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The purpose of this paper is to identify influential workplace engagement interventions that were initiated by managers over several years as revealed in many studies. Also, an action learning guide is offered for an individual manager to use such interventions with the employee in shaping activities to assist employee learning and performance improvement which may result in greater workplace engagement.

The first step was to examine the research literature on: the meaning of workplace engagement along with theory bases for it, the framework for stimulating employee engagement and information about action learning in the workplace. Second, was the identification of manager/organization interventions found to result in employee assessment of their own positive growth in workplace engagement? Third, we offer a practical, action learning approach.

An action guide is presented as an example of a method to assist a manager working with, in this case, a single employee. The guide is grounded on empirical research, mostly meta-analyses, and reflects positively assessed workplace engagement interventions.

In the performance management, human resources and training domains there is limited research and/or examples of practical guides for managers to use to link guidance with efforts to apply specific interventions to support employee workplace engagement. This paper provides the manager with a path to assist employees.

The purpose of this paper is to present for practitioner (manager) consideration an approach to a collaborative learning and problem-solving effort by a manager in partnership with an employee. Fundamentally, in place of manager direction and expertise applied to employee learning, the approach is grounded on manager-employee collaboration that makes use of an approach to learning to: (1) address some work-based problem or issue, (2) share typical leadership roles of goal-setting and problem solving, and (3) jointly working to improve the knowledge, skills, and personal attributes of each partner.

The concept of reciprocal reflective approach to learning (RRAL) is created by consideration of some factors that are consolidated, ultimately, to yield an approach to change. They include shared efforts in goal-setting and related tasks, identification of knowledge and skill areas linked to the performance and growth of each of the partners, and the use of a specific learning model.

The approach presented can be achieved yet requires much attention by each participant. Reciprocity means that each participant is involved in their own increases in knowledge and skills as well as aiding their partner in her/his improvements. Problem solving is also a large component of their efforts as is relationship building.

The approach embraces how reciprocal action can go well beyond problem solving and includes manager and employee interest and attention in helping each other to learn, change, and recognize growth in personal attributes.

The purpose of this paper aimed primarily at the practitioner is to offer foundational information regarding reciprocal-reflective approach to learning (RRAL). Presentation and explanation include conceptual and theory grounding of the processes to be initiated by a manager for collaboration with an employee. A detailed model reflective of the approach is presented. Conceptual and practice-aimed information may be adapted for training and development.

Explanations of employee learning often place the manager in role(s) of teacher, guide, coach and/or expert. Proposed here is an approach in which manager and individual employee, jointly, make use of a learning approach which is representative of an experiential, action or problem-based form of learning from which they both can learn. The manager can initiate the process in which both participants collaborate to identify some specific, shared learning goals aimed at the matters under consideration. Other goals, likely more personal in the case of each participant, may also be identified and efforts made to help one another attain progress regarding such goals. The RRAL process as explained mirrors a bifurcation of instrumental behaviors (focus on learning activities) and emotional behaviors (caring and sharing resulting in a strengthened relationship and trust).

Relying on research that clearly identifies various supportive behaviors on the part of the manager, a detailed example of a plan is provided. The plan is driven by shared aims, focus, feedback and adjustment. In addition to individual learning goals, the manager has the opportunity to make her/his own role adjustments that lead to positive, supportive actions stimulating the quality of the relationship with the employee including the building of trust.

Using the example provided as a guide can be very helpful to a manager with limited experience in instigating employee learning and change. Initial use may be regarded as an experiment subject to much analysis and discussion by both participants as they contemplate how to work together in future reciprocal learning endeavors.

Currently, there is little research available that expresses how manager and employee can work as partners on some matter (change, problem, improvement) in a collaborative, reciprocal fashion. This paper, as an example, should demonstrate that skills and knowledge of both participants can improve and progress made regarding the issue at hand. The RRAL can be fashioned by the participants to yield progress and a more positive relationship.

This study examines the effect of delegation of decision rights, moral justification (MJ), and ethical climate (EC) on managers’ misreporting in the financial services sector. We employed an online research panel called Qualtrics, to collect data based on a sample of 127 middle-level managers from various US financial services firms. We find that MJ mediates the relation between delegation and misreporting, suggesting delegation of decision rights increases employees’ misreporting indirectly by increasing MJ. We also find that EC significantly moderates the relationship between MJ and misreporting. Furthermore, our test of the moderated-mediation effect reveals that the indirect effect of the delegation of decision rights on misreporting through MJ is stronger when there is a higher level of instrumental climate (IC) and a lower level of principle climate (PC).

Many groups in organisations are unsuccessful in problem solving. However, the principle of continuous improvement necessitates that organisations refine their employees’ problem-solving skills. In this mixed-method, field-based lab experiment, we explored the impact of a treatment to enhance the quality of group problem-solving processes.

We focused on the structured problem-solving process in Kaizen Events by differentiating six consecutive phases. About 16 Kaizen Event groups (101 members) participated in a field-based lab experiment that used a lean simulation game to establish a group problem-solving context. Data were collected via video, surveys and group interviews. We examined if a high-quality process is strengthened through group members’ elevated awareness of problem-solving preferences. About 11 groups received a treatment of tailor-made individual feedback to increase awareness of their problem-solving preferences. Additionally, we repeated the experiment in five control groups, where member preferences were not shared.

In the treatment groups, where problem-solving preferences had been shared, we observed a clear improvement in Kaizen Event process quality and higher problem-solving self-efficacy levels. Moreover, their self-reported Kaizen Event behaviour had changed. Within the control groups, the participants also reported that their problem-solving self-efficacy had improved, but this did not have a positive impact on the quality of the objectively measured Kaizen Event process.

By combining insights from operations management and organisational behaviour, we demonstrate that the structured Kaizen Event problem-solving process improves when group members’ individual problem-solving preferences are shared. We thus add an individual-level variable to the extant models of Kaizen Event success factors. Our results provide fresh insights into how to improve the continuous improvement process within organisations. Kaizen Event stakeholders and their facilitators are offered guidance on how to increase one’s awareness of own and others’ problem-solving preferences in group-based problem-solving events.

Research focusing on psychological capital (PsyCap) has been mainly conducted at the individual level. However, recent research has expanded investigations to the collective level with a greater focus on team-level PsyCap. Although, as demonstrated by recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses, the relationships between individual-level PsyCap and the desirable/undesirable outcomes are fairly established in the literature, less is known about such relationships for team-level PsyCap. One of these important, yet least investigated, research areas is the research stream that focuses on the relationship between team-level PsyCap and the outcomes of health, Well-Being, and safety. This chapter aims to highlight the role of individual-level PsyCap as an important predictor of employees’ health, Well-Being, and safety outcomes, but also to go beyond that to provide insights into the potential role of team-level PsyCap in predicting such outcomes at both individual and team levels. To do so, the chapter first draws upon relevant theories to discuss the empirical research findings focusing on the relationship between individual-level PsyCap and the outcomes of health, Well-Being, and safety. It then focuses on team-level PsyCap from theoretical, conceptualization, and operationalization perspectives and provides insights into how team-level PsyCap might be related to health, Well-Being, and safety outcomes at both individual and team levels. Thus, this chapter proposes new research directions in an area of PsyCap that has been left unexplored.

The personalities of leaders have been shown to impact the culture of their organizations and are also expected to have a more distal impact on the firm’s financial performance. However, the authors also expect that leader gender is an important intervening variable such that exhibiting various personality dimensions may result in unique cultural and performance-based outcomes for women and men leaders. Thus, the authors seek to examine first the impact of leader personality on organizational performance, as driven through organizational culture as a mediating mechanism. In doing so, the authors propose the expected impact of specific personality dimensions on certain types of organizational cultures, and those cultures’ subsequent impact on the organization’s performance. The authors then extend to consider the moderating effects of leader gender on the relationship between leader personality and organization. To support their propositions, the authors draw from upper echelons and implicit leadership theories. The authors encourage researchers to consider the proposition within a sample of the largest publicly traded US companies (i.e., Fortune 500) at an important era in history such that for the first time, 10% of these companies are led by women. In doing so, the authors hope to understand the leadership dynamics at the highest echelons of corporate governance and provide actionable insights for companies aiming to optimize their leadership composition and drive sustainable performance.

This paper explores sustainability within supply chain management and its link towards resilience through the lens of ethics. The wicked problem of sustainability impacts supply chains and society at large, and the ability of supply chains to remain viable in the future is based on the sustainability of business practices. The paper argues that a substantive proportion of sustainability mechanisms (such as the Triple Bottom Line approach and codes of conducts) can be viewed within the ethical paradigm of deontology, whereby the morality of an action is based on adherence to rules. However, there are numerous critiques of such approaches and their success in creating more sustainable practices. Therefore, the paper proposes there is a need for systems thinking approaches to be incorporated into the exploration of the link between ethics, sustainability and supply chain resilience. Using two examples of social sustainability issues in Australia – modern slavery legislation and horticultural ¹ worker exploitation – the paper demonstrates the utility of various systems thinking methodologies to explore the complexity of these issues. The paper sets out a conceptual call to arms for researchers and practitioners to apply a holistic lens towards how the morality of actions is shaped and influences supply chain sustainability practices.

This paper investigates the relationship between teleworkers' perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and employee engagement (EE) in remote work.

A quantitative research approach was used, involving a questionnaire distributed via convenience sampling. Data from 205 valid responses from teleworking employees in Spain were analysed using structural equation modelling to test the hypothesis regarding the association between CSR and EE.

The study found that CSR’s social and environmental dimensions positively impact EE among teleworkers. However, the economic dimension of CSR only partially influences EE in a telework setting.

The findings suggest organisations can enhance EE during telework periods by focusing on social and environmental CSR initiatives. This approach can mitigate the reduced EE associated with remote work, improving organisational performance, productivity, satisfaction and employee well-being.

This study provides empirical evidence on the positive effects of CSR’s social and environmental dimensions on EE in a telework context, offering valuable insights for organisations navigating the post-pandemic landscape. Also, specific CSR strategies can establish a competitive advantage by fostering a motivated and engaged remote workforce.

Este artículo investiga la relación entre las percepciones de los teletrabajadores sobre la responsabilidad social corporativa (RSC) y el compromiso de los empleados (EE) en el trabajo remoto.

Se utilizó un enfoque de investigación cuantitativa, mediante un cuestionario distribuido a través de un muestreo por conveniencia. Se analizaron datos de 205 respuestas válidas de empleados teletrabajadores en España utilizando modelos de ecuaciones estructurales para probar la hipótesis sobre la asociación entre RSC y EE.

El estudio encontró que las dimensiones sociales y ambientales de la RSC impactan positivamente en el EE entre los teletrabajadores. Sin embargo, la dimensión económica de la RSC solo influye parcialmente en el EE en un entorno de teletrabajo.

Los hallazgos sugieren que las organizaciones pueden mejorar el EE durante los períodos de teletrabajo al enfocarse en iniciativas de RSC social y ambiental. Este enfoque puede mitigar la reducción del EE asociada con el trabajo remoto, mejorando el rendimiento organizacional, la productividad, la satisfacción y el bienestar de los empleados.

Este estudio proporciona evidencia empírica sobre los efectos positivos de las dimensiones sociales y ambientales de la RSC en el EE en un contexto de teletrabajo, ofreciendo valiosas ideas para las organizaciones que navegan el paisaje post-pandémico. Además, estrategias específicas de RSC pueden establecer una ventaja competitiva al fomentar una fuerza laboral remota motivada y comprometida.