Masters of Commerce / In the twenty first century, the traditional roles in a nuclear family have changed. In the majority of modern families, both partners have careers and full-time jobs. Burnett, Gatrell, Cooper and Sparrow (2010) explain that the approach to working life is changing, both men and women want to find a balance between work, family and caring responsibilities. Guest (2002) also elaborates that work-life balance has always been a concern for those interested in the quality of working life and the relation to broader quality of life. Due to the challenges which employees are currently facing, flexible work arrangements have become an increasingly popular business practice around the globe as a means to reduce work-life conflict. Many organisations offer flexible work arrangements with the goal of facilitating positive outcomes for both organisations and employees (Joiner & Bakalis, 2006). However, other organisations are still resistant to introducing flexible work arrangements as they fear it might impact negatively on productivity (Johnson, 2004; Martinez-Sanchez, Perez-Perez, Jose Vela-Jimenez & de-Luis Carnicer, 2008). While literature on flexible working hours has increased in recent times, no study has been found on the relationships between flexible working hours, employee engagement and organisational commitment in the retail sector in South Africa. Therefore this study focused on the relationship between flexible working hours, employee engagement and organisational commitment. The study followed a quantitative approach and the questionnaires were completed by 161 respondents. The two statistical approaches used to draw conclusions for this study are descriptive and inferential statistics. The study found significant relationships between flexible working hours, employee engagement and organisational commitment. The study also found a significant relationship between different age groups and flexible working hours as well as male and female and their use of flexible working hours. In conclusion, if retailers want to remain competitive in the retail industry where international competition is rife, they will have to ensure that they have the best talent. In order to acquire top talent, they will need to implement policies that will attract and retain them. Based on the findings and results, flexible working hours could substantially assist by increasing their employee engagement and organisational commitment and thereby attracting and retaining the top talent in the South African retail industry.

The work environment has vastly become more demanding and organizational practises have required have needed to be cognisant of methods to keep employees engaged. The topic of flexible working arrangements (FWA) has grown in popularity by research scholars and business practitioners. Considerable research has been conducted on the various dynamics of FWA and the influence of employee engagement. This research however aims to explore emerging themes in perceived organizational support (POS) and employee engagement in the context of flexible work arrangements, to gain in-depth understanding of the relationship between POS and employee engagement, in addition to what has been contributed to literature. The research study was conducted through qualitative methodology of exploratory obtained by the researcher. 14 semi-structured interviews were largely conducted through virtual communication platform, Zoom; and where possible interviews were conducted face-to-face, through open-ended questions. Respondents consisted of 7 Managers and 7 Employees from different organisations across three different industries. The analysis of the interviews was conducted through the six-stage thematic analysis. The research found four emerging themes FWA associated with flexible working schedules, enabling infrastructure, work life balance and adapting to a new way of working. The research also found a positive relationship between employee engagement and POS through common themes such as trust between managers and employees, decision making and dedication to work tasks. The perspectives and views from the participants were commonly affected by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore the researcher made every attempt to gain perspectives prior the pandemic and during the pandemic from the participants. The research was limited to medium to large sized organisations operating in South Africa. / Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2021. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

Enligt en studie som Gallup (2017) genomfört är det endast 14 % av alla medarbetare i Sverige som upplever aktivt engagemang i förhållande till sitt arbete. Detta skapar en negativ påverkan ur en ekonomisk aspekt men även för arbetsmiljön. Med detta som utgångspunkt var syftet med den här studien att undersöka samband mellan SKR:s mätverktyg för hållbart medarbetarengagemang och vad forskningen menar har störst påverkan på motivation. Vidare avsåg studien även att studera kännetecken för medarbetarskap i verksamheter med högt engagemangsindex och se hur detta kunde mätas.   I teorikapitlet lyftes teori kring kvalitetsutveckling, medarbetarskapet utifrån Velten et al. (2017) tre pelare, som anses vara grunden för arbetsglädje och avslutningsvis de faktorer som enligt forskning anses ha störst inverkan på motivation (mening, självbestämmande kompetens och inflytande).   Urvalet för studien var arbetsgrupper som uppmätt högt värde på engagemangsindex 2020. Studien var av designen fallstudie och har använt flera metoder i datainsamlingen. En kvalitativ del av studien genomfördes genom en granskning av HME - modellens index för hållbart medarbetareengagemang (HME) och fyra intervjuer, i den kvantitativa delen gjordes en enkätstudie.   Av resultatet framkommer att tre av sex påståenden i mätverktyget HME inte anses ha stöd i forskning kring motivation. Medarbetarskapet i verksamheter med högt HME kan sammanfattas genom tre huvudområden med två till fyra delområden. Studiens slutsats var att dessa kännetecknas av faktorer som kan knytas till Velten et al. (2017) tre pelare men även till de faktorer som enligt forskning har störst påverka på motivation. Den kvalitativa studien valideras genom enkätstudien som också visar att medarbetarskapet kan mätas genom det verktyg som studien utvecklat. / According to a study by Gallup (2017), only 14% of all employees in Sweden experience engagement in relation to their work. This creates a negative impact from an economic aspect but also on the work environment. With this as a starting point, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between SKR's measurement tool for sustainable employee engagement (HME) and what the research believes has the most significant impact on motivation. Furthermore, the study also intended to study the characteristics of employees in companies with a high commitment index and see how this could be measured.   The theory chapter highlights the theory of quality development, the collaboration based on Velten et al. (2017) three pillars, which are considered to be the basis for job satisfaction and finally, the factors that, according to research, are considered to have the most significant impact on motivation (meaning, self-determining competence and influence).   The sample for the study was working groups that measured high value on the engagement index 2020. The study was by design a case study and has used several methods in the data collection. A qualitative part of the study was conducted by reviewing the HME model's index for sustainable employee engagement (HME) and four interviews. In the quantitative part, a questionnaire study was conducted.   The results show that three out of six statements in the measurement tool HME are not considered to support research on motivation. Employeeship in organizations with a high HME can be summarized through three main areas with two to four sub-areas. The study concluded that these are characterized by factors that can be linked to Velten et al. (2017) three pillars and the factors that, according to research, have the most significant influence on motivation. The qualitative study is validated through the questionnaire study, which also shows that employeeship can be measured through the study's tool. / <p>2021-06-06</p>

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Engaged employees contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization’s service to their community. Many organizational leaders struggle to engage their employees before, during, and after organizational mergers. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies 9 leaders from 3 merged higher education organizations in the state of Georgia used to encourage employee engagement when their organizations were merging. The conceptual framework for this study was a combination of the transformational leadership theory, the self-efficacy theory, and the acquisition integration approach. After collecting data through semistructured interviews, organizational documentation, and member checking, data analysis through thematic review and triangulation revealed 4 key themes. The major themes for engaging employees during mergers were: strategies establishing a communication plan; strategies creating a cohesive culture, identity, or team; strategies mitigating barriers to employee engagement; and strategies assessing successful implementation for ongoing modification and adjustment of engagement strategies. The implications of this study for social change are that engaged employees might increase the institution’s productivity in educating students to be more successful in the workforce after graduating, and therefore, have a greater capacity to provide for their families and strengthen their communities.

Abstract Date: 2020-06-09 Level: Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors: Jonathan Örström          Aram Said (98/09/13)                    (97/01/19) Title: Investigating project-based engagement within the project-oriented organisation; a study on the influence of a project structure on the drivers of engagement and human issues within project management. Tutor: David Freund Keywords: Project structure, employee engagement, manager relationship, job demands, job resources, group dynamics. Research question: How can a project structure have an impact on project team members’ engagement within a project-oriented organisation?           Purpose: This thesis aims to investigate within a project-oriented organization how the project management structure can influence the project teams’ engagement. Its further purpose is to add new knowledge in the subject of project-based engagement and human issues of project management. To study this area, possibilities will open for a greater understanding of workplace engagement, in the specific context of project-oriented organisations implementing the project structure. Method: This thesis adopts a quantitative research method with a deductive theory approach, whereby theory is elaborated which devices hypotheses for the research. Furthermore, the collection of primary data for this thesis is retrieved through a self-completion questionnaire in the form of an online survey provided by Google Forms. Data will be retrieved and analysed through the statistical software IBM SPSS Conclusion: The most significant finding is the positive relationship between manager relationship and engagement, strongly agreeing with previous literature of Khan (1990) and Matthews et al. (2018). The other two variables found to have a significant relationship to engagement were job-resource availability and work/ task context. This agreed with Bakker et al. (2007), Demerouti et al. (2001), Khan (1990) and Matthews et al. (2018) amongst others. Unexpectedly and as not hypothesised for is that group dynamics has no significant relationship towards engagement. This goes against some of the main literature by Kahn (1990) and Matthews et al. (2018). However, the result has shown all variables are influenced by the project structure and engagement indicated to increase in its whole

This study explores the previously less researched impact of corporate reputation on employees, more specifically on employee engagement. Employee engagement and corporate reputation are concepts that have been receiving attention in both business and academia alike, especially in view of the economic turmoil of the past decade as both constructs have been shown to affect profits. The study was designed in a way to measure the impact of employees’ perceptions of corporate reputation on their engagement with the corporation, while controlling for the state of their psychological contract with the organisation. An online survey of 509 employees from a large South African bank provided the data to which a Structural Equation Model (SEM) emanating from the theoretical background was fitted. The results of the model unequivocally confirmed that corporate reputation perceptions are an important predictor of employee engagement. It was also found that psychological contract breach influences both perceptions of reputation by employees and employee engagement directly. The implication is that corporate reputation can have a strong influence on tangible results through employee engagement. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Winston Churchill observed that the “ empires of the future will be empires of the mind”. Challenges and opportunities brought by globalization and knowledge-based economy force organizations to prioritize acquiring and managing cross cultural high end talents. Despite the global economic downturn, companies are having trouble finding people who are their “best fit”. This researched proposed an “employer brand framework” that focuses on building successfulemployer brands for B2Bs in the ICT industry to enhance their appeal to talents with vital skillsthat help organizations to win in the global market competition. For this purpose, Swedish telecom giant, Ericsson AB, has been studied as a case study.The thesis first carries out a literature study to give an in-depth overview of existing theories, concepts and applications related to employer branding activities. Then the research methodology is explained followed by the development and presentation of the employer brand framework for B2Bs in the ICT industry. Furthermore, the study case is introduced in which the framework is applied. Finally, the conclusion and areas for future work are presented.

Background: Since the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development establishment in 2015, the UN member nations have pressured organizations to improve their sustainability engagements in order to enable the nations to meet their agreed sustainable development goals. To ensure organizational transparency regarding an organization’s sustainability engagements, a regulation regarding non-financial reporting entered into force in 2016. However, the non-financial reporting is principally external-driven, and the communicated information is not received by the ones realizing these sustainability engagements, namely the internal stakeholders. Problem: The fact that external communication of an organization’s sustainability engagements improves the consumption from consumers, together with the regulation of non-financial reporting, there is no coincidence that a lot of the sustainability communication from organizations is directed to external stakeholders rather than internal stakeholders. Furthermore, the internal communication of an organization’s sustainability engagements is an insufficiently researched topic, although it is of great importance to foster employee engagement. Purpose: This study aims to discover how organizations within the food retail industry communicate their sustainability engagements internally throughout the levels of the organization, from top management down to all employee levels.  Method: The research is conducted through a qualitative research design with six semi-structured interviews. The interviewees represented three different levels of two different food retail organizations. Findings were analyzed and compared to previous research within the topic. Conclusion: Findings show that the examined organizations do communicate their sustainability engagements to their internal stakeholders. However, this communication is done through communication channels where the actual information is not received by its intended receivers. This results in internal stakeholders being unaware of their organization’s sustainability engagements. Since awareness is a prerequisite for engagement, preferred communication channels from the receiver’s perspective and an organizational structure that enables top management to reach its intended receiver are identified as vital components to engage the internal stakeholders with its organization’s sustainability engagements.

The annual cost of low employee engagement in Australian workplaces was $18.7 billion in 2015. Healthcare managers who adopt employee engagement strategies have the potential to achieve robust clinical, operational, and financial results that benefit both the organization and the community as a whole. The purpose of this single case study was to explore effective employee engagement strategies that some healthcare managers used to increase organizational performance. Social exchange theory was the conceptual framework for the study. Data were collected through semi structured interviews with 8 healthcare managers in Queensland, Australia. Participants who implemented successful employee engagement strategies were selected using a snowball sampling technique. Data analysis consisted of generating themes through coding using a deductive approach and reporting emergent themes. Five key themes that emerged from the data analysis were psychological ownership, job resources, leadership, training and development, and rewards and recognition. The process of member checking ensured that findings accurately represented participants' views. Recommendations from the study highlight the need for healthcare managers to implement employee engagement strategies that motivate discretionary efforts, resulting in improved quality patient care and organizational performance. The implications for positive social change include providing healthcare managers with effective employee engagement strategies that could improve patient experiences, operational efficiencies, and quality healthcare provisions in the healthcare industry.