Project:

Research Statement

Our research is focused on how managers can effectively manage employee engagement to increase day to day efficiency of an organization as well as employee satisfaction levels

  • Corporate Sustainability amidst environmental change … (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2022, from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bse.2944

This study builds upon the concepts introduced in “Exploring the Generic Understanding of Managing Sustainability. Studies in Business and Economics,” going further into the idea that management is shifting away from an entirely efficiency focused perspective on management. Instead, this study introduces the idea of “resilience-based management” wherein organizations move away from short term outcomes and look at long term sustainable goals. By shifting focus to resilience, this study argues, an organization can be more prepared for disruptions in supply chain or business practices. This is important to our project because providing incentives for companies to switch away from unsustainable practices is necessary for encouraging change. Showing that by switching to sustainable solutions can increase long term profit is a must.

This article links the ideas of sustainability with efficiency utilizing the example of an the airline industry’s competition to be more sustainable. Focusing on a business’ ability to achieve economic success by focusing on a well-done performance in environmental and social issues. The information on the study in this article can be used to relate the idea with company success being employee success. A part of the reason it is so difficult to implement new structures and behaviors within an industry is being able to get employees to know their benefit as well. Since many employees hope to see direct with a change in policy, rather than the long term outcome, this will help elaborate on how a manager can effectively introduce sustainability into the company’s norms and keep employees to the same standard.

  • Li, X., Xue, J., & Liu, J. (n.d.). Linking leader humility to employee creative performance: Work engagement as a mediator. Social Behavior and Personality. Retrieved April 26, 2022, from https://aws.sbp-journal.com/index.php/sbp/article/view/10358

This article explores the importance of humility as a trait for leadership. It discusses the findings of researchers around the quality of leadership surrounding the definition of humility. These findings showed that a leader exhibiting humility can encourage a plethora of positive results from individual members and the team. These results are very important to our project because we are looking for ways in which management will successfully encourage their employees to adapt sustainable practices. By demonstrating humility, the leaders discussed in the article stimulated a positive, creative, and motivated environment which is a huge aspect of our goal.

  • Motyka, B. (2018, September 1). Employee engagement and performance: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Management and Economics. Retrieved April 26, 2022, from https://www.sciendo.com/article/10.2478/ijme-2018-0018

This article mainly talks about how employees are the most important part of an organization. It clearly talks about how employees, regardless of the sole nature of business, are one of the key resources of a company/organization because when “competition for the best specialists is often stronger than efforts to obtain the client or customer, the ability to successfully manage relationships with employees can decide on the long term market advantage” When implementing a creation of a more friendly, development environment that leads to employee engagement, employers can increase their chances of hiring and retaining valuable employees therefore the sustainability of the organization’s environment will be crucial to positive beneficiary outcome. I think this is one of the most important things to think about in our project because for an organization to be performing at all highs in terms of sustainability and great management, the employees need to feel as if they are part of the company/organization.

  • Newman, A., Miao, Q., Hofman, P. S., & Zhu, C. J. (2015, July 28). The impact of socially responsible human resource management on employees’ organizational citizenship behaviour: The mediating role of organizational identification. Taylor & Francis. Retrieved April 26, 2022, from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09585192.2015.1042895

This article covers the importance of prioritizing long term solutions by implementing corporate social responsibility (or as described in the article CSR). CSR involves the development of policies and strategies that include the organization’s behavior on the different groups (with the inclusion of employees and communities). The importance of this article in the research of making a company shift to be more sustainable is to show how and why it is important to keep employees engaged with changing policies. As described in this article, employee reactions to an organization’s CSR practices are critical for an organization’s effectiveness. This translates to our project by demonstrating how by effectively managing the implementation of a policy with the mission of being more sustainable has a direct on employee engagement.

  • Panţa, N. D. (2021, December 1). Exploring the generic understanding of managing sustainability. Studies in Business and Economics. Retrieved April 26, 2022, from https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/sbe-2021-0051

This article discusses how incorporating sustainability into management techniques differs from a more traditional management approach. Specifically, this article covers how sustainable management steps away from focusing on short term profit and solely focusing on shareholders’ interests, and instead focuses on the greater impact the organization has on consumers and its long-term success. This article hones in on the idea that consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the often negative, ecological impact different organizations are having on the world, and the negative fallout which these impacts can have on public image. This is important for our project because a company with a largely negative sentiment will have less commitment and satisfaction with its employees, and by increasing public image and sustainable growth an organization can secure their place in future markets.

  • Rodell, J. B., University of GeorgiaSearch for more papers by this author, Booth, J. E., London School of Economics and Political ScienceSearch for more papers by this author, Lynch, J. W., University of Illinois at ChicagoSearch for more papers by this author, Zipay, K. P., V., A. R., I., A., E., A. B., G., B. S., A., B. C., D., B., F., B. R., D., B. P., E., B. J., J., B., H., B., S., C., … Schinoff, B. S. (2017, January 10). Corporate volunteering climate: Mobilizing employee passion for societal causes and inspiring future charitable action. Academy of Management Journal. Retrieved April 26, 2022, from https://journals.aom.org/doi/10.5465/amj.2015.0726

This article describes research and methods encompassing a work environment in which the employees are eager to volunteer. Researchers developed a series of questions surrounding the problem that businesses have of incentivizing their employees to be active in volunteering. This article is important to our project as we are investigating techniques to maintain an involved community within a business that is shifting to be more sustainable. We decided that it was important that employees feel dedicated to sustainability and by using methods described throughout the article, we can build a structure that exhibits this.

  • YuSheng, K., Ali, S., Akeji, A. A. A.-R., Musah, A.-A. I., & Ismaila, M. (2021, November 1). Corporate Social Responsibility and organizational performance: Mediating role of employee job satisfaction. Zagreb International Review of Economics and Business. Retrieved April 26, 2022, from https://www.sciendo.com/article/10.2478/zireb-2021-0014

This article talks about 3 main key points which are “Corporate Social Responsibility; Employee Job Satisfaction; Organizational Performance” I think those 3 key points are crucial in sustaining and maximizing performance within an organization. The article goes into talking about the relationships between the social and organizational performance of each. It talks about using different methods to better the organization and the employees such as “The stakeholder theory of CSR” which prioritizes one aspect of business – its orientation toward the society at large for example its social orientation over the other business responsibilities. Stakeholder theory posits that the essence of business primarily lies in building relationships and creating value for all its stakeholders. I think this is important to our project because to strive for great sustainability we need to take extra measures and innovate.

 

Photo Source: https://www.dreamstime.com/team-business-energy-use-sustainability-elements-energy-sources-sustainable-team-business-energy-use-sustainability-elements-image120464617

Team Members:

  • Meghan Gillaspy
  • Ryan Scott
  • Edgar Espiritu
  • Jannick Abullarade