The purpose of the study is to explore the relationship between employees¡¦ perceived organizational support, positive psychological capital, readiness for organizational change and resistance to organizational change. The total valid sample consisted of 188 employees from companies in manufacturing industry, which was undergoing change. The data from matched supervisor and subordinate (a 1:4 supervisor -subordinate ratio) responses was analyzed by factor analysis, reliability analysis, and measured by LISREL model to examine the relationship among the constructs. Results showed that employees¡¦ readiness for organizational change had direct effects on their resistance to organizational change, and indicated that readiness for organizational change fully mediated the relationships between perceived organizational support and resistance to organizational change. In addition, readiness for organizational change fully mediated the relationships between positive psychological capital and resistance to organizational change as well. However, neither perceived organizational support nor positive psychological capital had direct effect on employees¡¦ resistance to change. Finally the study provided three suggestions for companies. Firstly, good communication environment and change-supporting culture should be constructed. Secondly, companies could build the competency index including positive psychological capital and implement it into HRM practice, such as recruitment, selecting, and training. Thirdly, employees¡¦ perceived organizational support could be cultivated by providing employees the employee assistance program.

This study presents research on the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ-24) and the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ) in a sample of Arizona secondary school principals. A comprehensive literature review was conducted linking the constructs of psychological capital and authentic leadership to other forms of positive leadership, effective organizational change theories, positive psychology, organizational learning, and empirical research on effective schools. A conceptual model of effective leadership for positive organizational was developed with psychological capital and authentic leadership as critical components. The goal of the study was to determine whether or not these measures of psychological capital and authentic leadership are valid, reliable, and appropriate for further research in educational settings. A confirmatory factor analysis quantitatively examined the goodness of fit between the data collected from Arizona secondary school principals and the predefined factor structure supported by previous theory and research. A sample of N=147 for the ALQ and N=149 for the PCQ-24 were collected from active secondary principals in Arizona. The following questions guided this study: 1. Is the factor structure of the PCQ-24 and the ALQ consistent with the theoretical model? 2. What are the internal consistencies (reliabilities) of the sub scales and the overall reliability for each questionnaire? 3. Are there any significant mean differences in psychological capital or authentic leadership behavior given any of the principal characteristics or school demographics? 4. What is the relationship between psychological capital and authentic leadership? Findings from the study suggested that the correlated four-factor model was a better fit than the theoretical latent factor model for both instruments. Overall reliability met acceptable levels for both instruments; however, some subscales in the self-report ALQ instrument were unreliable. Significant mean differences in principals' age and years as a principal were found in both instruments, along with mean differences on some school demographic factors. Several of these differences support the theoretical constructs of psychological capital and authentic leadership within this population. Given the tentative results of the instruments, additional research is recommended in validating these instruments and potentially modifying them slightly for a population of educators. Additional recommendations and limitations conclude this study.

Servant leadership focuses on stakeholder concern and follower development and empowerment. It has begun to emerge as a useful perspective of leadership within academic research, but theoretical development remains limited, and some of its key propositions have not been tested. In this dissertation I build and test a theory of how servant leadership works, why it works, and when it works. Drawing on the extant servant leadership literature, a social learning perspective, and research on gender roles and schemas, I propose a conceptual definition and theory of how servant leadership impacts two characteristics of followers (prosocial motivation and psychological capital) to affect distal outcomes including voice and performance. I also test servant leadership's impact on the spread of servant leadership behaviors to followers, a key proposition of servant leadership for nearly fifty years which has never been empirically tested. Further, I propose gender and gender schemas as potential moderators of servant leadership, arguing that the more communal emphasis of this approach may interact with sex role factors to impact its effectiveness, such that females may actually have an advantage in using servant leadership, as opposed to the implicit masculine advantage in other leadership behaviors. To answer these research questions, I conducted a temporally lagged multi-organizational study testing the mediators, moderators, and outcomes of servant leadership. Using a variance decomposition approach to clustered and cross-level interactions in an HLM framework, I find substantial support for my theoretical predictions. Results support the idea that exposure to servant leadership behaviors is associated with all three performance outcomes, including an employee's own enactment of servant leadership, both directly and through the mediating effects of positive psychological capital. These effects were contingent as hypothesized, such that servant leadership was more powerful when used by a female manager, and when experienced by individuals with high female gender schemas. Theoretical and practical implications of these conclusions, as well as future research suggested by these results, are discussed.

Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Occupational stress and Burnout are serious problems in current day organisations. To this end organisations should actively promote positive psychological health and occupational wellbeing in order to harness the full potential of their workforce and increase organisational performance. Studies from the emerging field of Positive Psychology hypothesize that personal resources, like the constructs of Psychological Capital (i.e. Hope, Optimism, Self-Efficacy and Resilience), may contribute to decreased Stress (Avey, Luthans & Jensen, 2009), Burnout (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2001) and increased work Engagement (Avey, Wernsing & Luthans, 2008). Moreover, it has been proven that the Psychological Capital (PsyCap) constructs are state-like and can be developed (Luthans, Avey & Patera, 2008). It may, therefore, be vital for organisations to identify and develop these positive PsyCap factors, which might moderate the effect of Occupational stress on Burnout, as well as curb the initial experiences of Occupational stress and the subsequent development of Burnout in their employees. The presence of PsyCap may also lead to increased Engagement, which is also known to be associated with less Burnout. The aims of this study were to explore the relationships between Burnout, Employee Engagement, Occupational stress and PsyCap in the South African context, as well as to determine whether PsyCap plays a moderating role in the Occupational stress, Burnout relationship. A non-experimental research design (i.e. exploratory survey study) was used to explore the relationships between these four constructs. In this study, Burnout was defined as a condition characterised by fatigue and exhaustion, divided into Personal Burnout (“the degree of physical and psychological fatigue and exhaustion experienced by the person”), Work-related Burnout (“the degree of physical and psychological fatigue and exhaustion that is perceived by the person as related to his/her work”) and Client-related Burnout (“the degree of physical and psychological fatigue and exhaustion that is perceived by the person as related to his/her work with clients”) (Kristensen, Borritz, Villadsen & Christensen, 2005, p. 197). Employee Engagement was defined as “a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigour, dedication, and absorption” (Schaufeli, Salanova, Gonzalez-Roma & Bakker, 2002, p.74). Occupational stress is experienced when an imbalance exists between people’s perceived environmental demands and their perceived ability to cope with these demands (Cooper, Clarke & Rowbottom, 1999). Lastly, PsyCap was described as a second-order construct which included Hope, Optimism, Self-efficacy and Resilience (Luthans, Youssef & Avolio, 2007). A convenience sample of 209 permanent employees and support staff of a medium size construction company within the Western Cape, South Africa, participated in the research. The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI; Kristensen et al., 2005), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9; Schaufeli & Bakker, 2003), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; Cohen, Kamarck & Mermelstein, 1983) and the Psychological Capital Questionnaire-Self Rater Version (PCQ-24; Luthans, Avolio & Avey, 2007) were administered. Consistent with previous research, significant negative relationships were evident between all three dimensions of Burnout and Occupational stress. This indicates that higher Occupational stress is associated with an increased propensity to develop Personal-, Work- and Client Burnout. This was expected as it is known that Burnout develops in reaction to prolonged Stress. The correlational results further revealed that higher levels of Hope, Optimism, Self-efficacy and Resilience (and the PsyCap total score) were associated with lower levels of Occupational stress and Burnout. This suggests that increased levels of PsyCap may probably lead to decreased levels of Occupational stress and Burnout. As expected, multiple moderate positive correlations were evident between the PsyCap sub-dimensions, empirically confirming the discriminant and convergent validity of the dimensions in the South African context. This implies that by developing one of the constructs, the others are also likely to increase. As hypothesised, both Occupational Stress and Burnout was found to relate negatively to Employee Engagement. The results further revealed that higher PsyCap was related to higher Engagement levels and that Optimism and Self-efficacy, as PsyCap sub-dimensions, emerged as the two strongest predictors of Employee Engagement. These results suggest that the development of PsyCap may hold multiple benefits (e.g. increasing Engagement, lessening Stress and subsequent Burnout). Lastly, PsyCap did indeed emerge as a moderator in the relationship between Occupational stress and Personal- and Work Burnout respectively. This suggests that although Occupational stress is inevitable in any work environment, PsyCap as a personal coping resource, can buffer the development of Burnout over the long term. Limitations of the study as well as suggestions for future research were discussed. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Werk stres en Uitbranding is twee ernstige probleme in die huidige werksomgewing. Organisasies moet dus die positiewe sielkundige gesondheid van hul werknemers bevorder en sodoende die volle potensiaal van hul werknemers probeer verseker, wat die organisasie se algehele prestasie sal verbeter. Studies vanaf die opkomende veld van Positiewe Sielkunde beweer dat persoonlike karaktereienskappe, soos die onderskeie konstrukte van Sielkundige Kapitaal (d.i. Hoop, Optimisme, Selfbekwaamheid en Veerkragtigheid), `n vermindering in stres (Avey et al., 2009) en Uitbranding (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2001) tot gevolg kan hê, asook Werknemerbetrokkenheid kan verhoog (Avey et al., 2008). Verder is daar ook bewys dat die konstrukte van Sielkundige Kapitaal ontwikkel kan word (e.g. Luthans et al., 2008). Dit is dus noodsaaklik vir organisasies om hierdie positiewe sielkundige konstrukte te identifiseer en ontwikkel, wat moontlik die effek van Werk stres op Uitbranding kan modereer, sowel as die oorspronklike ondervindings van Werk stres en die gevolglike ontwikkeling van Uitbranding in werknemers, kan inhibeer. Die teenwoordigheid van Sielkundige Kapitaal kan ook aanleiding gee tot `n verhoging in Werknemerbetrokkenheid, wat ook verwant is aan minder Uitbranding. Die doelwitte van hierdie studie was om die verwantskappe tussen Uitbranding, Werknemerbetrokkenheid, Werk Stres en Sielkundige Kapitaal in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks te ondersoek, asook om te bepaal of Sielkundige Kapitaal ‘n modererende rol speel in die verband tussen Werk Stres en Uitbranding. 'n Nieeksperimentele navorsingsontwerp ('n verkennende studie) is gebruik om die verbande tussen die vier konstrukte te ondersoek. In hierdie studie word Uitbranding beskryf as `n toestand gekenmerk deur vermoeienis en uitputting, en word verdeel in Persoonlike Uitbranding (die graad van fisiese en sielkundige vermoeienis en uitputting wat deur die persoon ervaar word), Werks Uitbranding (die graad van fisiese en sielkundige vermoeienis en uitputting wat deur die persoon ervaar word, verwant aan sy/haar werk) en Kliënte Uitbranding (die graad van fisiese en sielkundige vermoeienis en uitputting wat deur die persoon ervaar word wat verwant is aan sy/haar werk met kliënte) (Kristensen et al., 2005). Werknemerbetrokkenheid is gedefinieer as 'n positiewe, vervullende ingesteldheid wat gekenmerk word deur Vitaliteit, Toegewydheid en Verdieptheid (Schaufeli et al., 2002). Werk stres word beskryf as `n wanbalans tussen `n persoon se persepsie van sy/haar omgewings vereistes en die persepsie van hul eie vermoëns om hierdie vereistes te hanteer (Cooper et al., 1999). Laastens verwys Sielkundige Kapitaal na `n tweede-orde konstruk wat bestaan uit vier afsonderlike subkonstrukte naamlik Hoop, Optimisme, Self-bekwaamheid en Veerkragtigheid. ‘n Geriefsteekproef van 209 permanente werknemers en steundienstepersoneel van 'n medium grootte konstruksie maatskappy in die Wes-Kaap het aan die navorsingsprojek deelgeneem. Die Copenhagen Uitbranding Vraelys (CBI; Kristensen et al., 2005), die Utrecht Werksbetrokkenheid Skaal (UWES-9) (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2003), die Waargenome Stresskaal (PSS; Cohen et al., 1983) en die Sielkundige Kapitaal – Self-beoordeling Weergawe (PCQ-24; Luthans, Avolio et al., 2007) was gebruik in hierdie studie. In ooreenstemming met vorige navorsing is beduidende negatiewe verwantskappe tussen die drie dimensies van Uitbranding en Werk stres gevind. Dit dui daarop dat hoër Werk stres geassosieer word met 'n toename in die geneigdheid om Persoonlike-, Werks- en Kliënte Uitbranding te ontwikkel. Hierdie resultate was verwag, aangesien dit bekend is dat Uitbranding die gevolg is van lang termyn Stres. Die resultate het verder onthul dat hoë vlakke van Hoop, Optimisme, Self- Bekwaamheid en Veerkragtigheid (asook die totaaltelling van Sielkundige Kapitaal) geassosieer word met laer vlakke van Werk stres en Uitbranding. Dus, `n toename in werknemers se Sielkundige Kapitaal kan moontlik lei tot `n afname in hul Werk stres en Uitbranding. Verder, en soos wat verwag was, is bevind dat daar verskeie positiewe korrelasies tussen die vier subkonstrukte van Sielkundige Kapitaal bestaan. Dit is ook 'n empiriese aanduiding van die onderskeidings geldigheid van hierdie dimensies binne die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks. Dit beteken dat deur een van hierdie vier konstrukte te ontwikkel, die ander drie konstrukte ook terselfdertyd sal verhoog. erder het SielkundigeKapitaal verband gehou met 'n toename in Werknemerbetrokkenheid, en Optimisme en Self-Bekwaamheid, as sub-dimensies van Sielkundige Kapitaal, was hier die beste voorspellers van Werknemerbetrokkenheid. Hierdie resultate impliseer dat die ontwikkeling van Sielkundige Kapitaal verskeie voordele vir 'n maatskappy kan inhou (bv. verhoogde Werknemer Betrokkenheid, verlaagde Werk stres, asook Uitbranding). Laastens het hierdie studie bewys dat Sielkundige Kapitaal wel 'n modererende rol speel in die verhouding tussen Werk stres en onderskeidelik Persoonlike- en Werks- Uitbranding. Dit veronderstel dat alhoewel Werk stres onafwendbaar is in die huidige werksomgewing, Sielkundige Kapitaal as 'n persoonlike hanteringsmeganisme of hulpbron, die ontwikkeling van Uitbranding kan buffer. Die beperkings van die studie, asook aanbevelings vir toekomstige navorsing word bespreek.

As transformações do ambiente de negócios nas últimas décadas, e principalmente nos últimos anos, têm se mostrado muito intensas no setor Saúde globalmente, com reflexos significativos também no Brasil, e tem alterado profundamente o modo como os profissionais da Saúde desenvolvem suas carreiras em um cenário de competitividade. Cada vez mais o diferencial competitivo das organizações de cuidados à Saúde se baseia em capacidades organizacionais fundamentadas em fatores intangíveis diretamente relacionados às atitudes e competências desempenhadas pelos recursos humanos da organização. Por isso, como ocorre com outras organizações de serviços, as organizações de cuidados à Saúde podem desenvolver vantagem competitiva através de uma administração eficaz dos seus recursos humanos, especialmente dos seus líderes. Pesquisas que ampliem o conhecimento sobre as atitudes de carreiras dos gestores das organizações de Saúde podem ser críticas para o aperfeiçoamento dessas organizações na nova economia, que é o ambiente no qual ocorre o desenvolvimento das novas carreiras. A carreira proteana é um dos modelos de carreira subjetiva mais difundidos entre estudiosos das novas carreiras e corresponde a duas dimensões fundamentais de atitudes de carreira: atitudes de carreira autodirigida e atitudes de carreira dirigida por valores pessoais. Adicionalmente, o capital psicológico é uma forma de capital intangível que tem despertado a atenção de acadêmicos da Psicologia Positiva e do Comportamento Organizacional Positivo, devido às evidências de associação do mesmo com indicadores de desempenho organizacional. Considerando a relevância e a necessidade de estudos nacionais empíricos, tanto sobre atitudes de carreira proteana, quanto sobre capital psicológico de gestores da Saúde, a presente dissertação tem como objetivo investigar a influência das atitudes de carreira proteana no capital psicológico dos gestores da Saúde. Para tanto, foi realizada a pesquisa em uma organização de cuidados à Saúde, caracterizada como uma federação de cooperativas médicas. O estudo foi descritivo, quantitativo e a coleta de dados foi realizada através de uma survey eletrônica que teve como base escalas validadas nos Estados Unidos e no Brasil (escala de atitudes de carreira proteana e questionário de capital psicológico). A amostra não probabilística e intencional foi formada por 250 gestores. Os resultados das análises fatoriais e dos alfas de Cronbach afirmaram a validade e a confiabilidade dos instrumentos utilizados para amostra estudada. Os resultados da ANOVA e da análise discriminante demonstraram que as atitudes de carreira autodirigida são um preditor para o capital psicológico. Com isso, esta pesquisa contribui para a literatura sobre carreira proteana de gestores da Saúde de várias maneiras: ao testar o impacto das atitudes de carreira proteana no capital psicológico, oferecendo suporte empírico que demonstra a influência das atitudes de carreira autodirigida no capital psicológico de gestores de uma organização de cuidados à Saúde no Brasil; ao estudar as atitudes de carreira proteana em gestores da Saúde, contextualizando-as no âmbito da Saúde na nova economia; ao adaptar e validar o questionário de capital psicológico para o português do Brasil; ao validar a escala de atitudes de carreira proteana e o questionário de capital psicológico para uso em gestores da Saúde; e, por fim, ao refletir sobre o referencial da Psicologia Positiva na pesquisa sobre atitudes de carreira proteana. / Changes in the business environment in the last decades, and especially in the recent years, have been very intense in the Health sector globally, with significant impact also in Brazil, and has changed deeply how Health sector workers develop their careers in a competitive scenario. Increasingly, competitive advantage of Health care organizations is based on organizational capabilities related to intangible factors directly linked to the attitudes and skills performed by human resources of the organization. Therefore, as with other service organizations, Health care organizations can develop competitive advantage through effective human resources management, especially of their leaders. Researches that advance the scientific knowledge about the Health care managers\' career attitudes can be critical to the improvement of these organizations in the new economy, which is the environment where new careers develop. Protean career is one of the most widespread subjective career model among new careers scholars and corresponds to two fundamental dimensions of career attitudes: self-directed career attitudes and values-driven career attitudes. Additionally, psychological capital is a form of capital that has attracted scholars\' attention from Positive Psychology and Positive Organizational Behavior, due to evidences of its association to organizational performance indicators. Considering the importance and the need for empirical national studies on both Health sector managers\' protean career attitudes and psychological capital, this thesis was aimed to investigate the influence of protean career attitudes on psychological capital of Health sector managers. For this purpose, research was carried in a Health care organization, characterized as a federation of medical cooperatives. This study was descriptive and quantitative; data collection was carried out through an electronic survey that was based on validated scales for American and Brazilian populations (protean career attitudes scale and psychological capital questionnaire). The probabilistic and intentional sample was formed by 250 managers. Results of the factor analysis and Cronbach\'s alphas confirmed validity and reliability of the instruments for the studied sample. ANOVA and discriminant analysis results showed self-directed career attitudes are a predictor of psychological capital. Thus, this study contributes to the literature on Healthcare managers\' protean career in several ways, by: testing the impact of protean career attitudes on psychological capital, providing empirical support that demonstrates the influence of self-directed career attitudes on Healthcare managers\' psychological capital; studying Healthcare managers\' protean career attitudes, contextualizing them within the Healthcare sector in the new economy; adapting and validating the psychological capital questionnaire for Brazilian Portuguese; validating protean career attitudes scale and psychological capital questionnaire for use in Healthcare sector managers; and, finally, by reflecting on the Positive Psychology framework applied to the research on protean career attitudes.

Given the strong focus of both organizations and institutions of higher education on leadership development, understanding antecedents to leadership motivation is a topic of great interest. This pre- registered study set out to investigate personality factors as antecedents to motivation to lead (MTL) and positive psychological capital (PsyCap). Additionally, the framework was expanded by integrating PsyCap as a predictor of MTL and mediator between personality and MTL. 258 business students served as a convenience sample for the cross-sectional study. The online survey included measures of the Big Five personality factors, PsyCap, and MTL. Several multiple regression and mediation analyses were conducted. The findings supported the proposed role of Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Neuroticism as antecedents to PsyCap. Additionally, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and PsyCap were identified as predictors of affective-identity MTL and PsyCap was found to predict socio-normative MTL. The mediation hypotheses were partially supported. The results imply that developing students’ PsyCap can potentially benefit their leadership motivation and help preparing them for future careers through making beneficial first leadership experiences in academic settings. As limitations are discussed, further research specifically investigating the role of cultural values is encouraged.

Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS) / This study was motivated by the great need to probe on the impact cross-cultural psychological capital has on cultural intelligence (CQ), affective commitment (AC) and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) among diverse employees at a retail organisation. Globalisation has led to the increase in movement of the labour force due to economic, political and market force expansion, thus, this mobility has led to diversity in the workplace. However, this workforce diversity highlights the importance of cross-cultural skills in the workplace. The major purpose of this study is to study the influence of cross-cultural psychological capital on cultural intelligence, affective commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour.

No description available.

[pt] Diante de tantas mudanças inesperadas no cenário global, as maiores implicações são em pessoas e nas organizações. Isso porque é cada vez maior a imposição de antecipar os problemas e reagir às transformações. Devido a este novo contexto em que as organizações estão inseridas, se faz necessário que líderes se aproximem cada vez mais dos liderados, para que seja possível responder à intempérie de maneira proativa, levando em conta as diferenças individuais, diversidade de pensamentos, maneira como os significados são atribuídos e formas de lidar com o novo. Frente a esses desafios, este estudo se propõe a verificar a relação entre as virtudes do líder e a relação líder-liderado associadas a proatividade. O presente estudo foi realizado através de pesquisa quantitativa, baseada em um questionário respondido por 82 profissionais, entre líderes e liderados de uma indústria convertedora de papel localizada no estado do Rio de Janeiro. Os achados sugerem que as virtudes do líder estão positivamente relacionadas a relação líder-liderado, com destaque para a coragem e a justiça, e que afeta positivamente a proatividade dos colaboradores. O estudo aplicou ainda como variável de controle o capital psicológico dos participantes, fator com alto impacto nas relações estudadas nesta dissertação. / [en] Faced with so many unexpected changes in the global scenario, the biggest implications are for people and organizations. This is because the imposition of anticipating problems and reacting to changes is increasing. Due to this new context in which organizations are inserted, it is necessary for leaders to get closer and closer to those They followers, so that it is possible to respond to the elements in proactive way, taking into account indivisual diferences, diversity of thoughts, the way in which meanings are assigned and ways of dealing with the new. Faced with these challanges, this study aims to verify how the leader s virtues and the LMX relationship are associated with proactivity. The presente study was carried out thought quatitative research, based on a questionnaire ansewered by 82 professionals from a paper converting industry located in the state of Rio de Janeiro – Brasil. The findings suggest that the leader s virtues are positively related to the LMX relationship, with emphasis on courage and justice, and that it positively affects the employees proactivity. The study also applied the participants psychological capital as a control variable, a fator with a high impact on the relationship studied in this dissetation.

Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS) / Working students encounter challenges and responsibilities at university and work. In attempting to study the books and chapters assigned, meet assignment deadlines, take part in extracurricular activities and function at work, working students may be overwhelmed sensing inadequate time to complete all their responsibilities. These may lead to certain negative outcomes for the working student, such as languishing, poor grades, taking longer than the expected time to complete studies or, in the worse scenario, quitting their studies. The primary aim of this study was to examine and understand the influence of non-cognitive factors (including PsyCap, time management, and grit) on flourishing and the working students’ intention to quit employing correlational and hierarchical regression analysis.