Beyond the competency frameworks-conceptualizing and deploying employee strengths at work
| Pages | 691-709 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JABS-07-2019-0228 |
| Date | 13 May 2020 |
| Published date | 13 May 2020 |
| Author | Vikas Rai Bhatnagar,Ajay K. Jain,Shiv S. Tripathi,Sabir Giga |
| Subject Matter | International business,Strategy |
Beyond the competency frameworks-
conceptualizing and deploying employee
strengths at work
Vikas Rai Bhatnagar, Ajay K. Jain, Shiv S. Tripathi and Sabir Giga
Abstract
Purpose –With growing stress at work, the need for scholars to focus on humanizingorganizations is
pressing. Scholars agree five factors lead to humanizing organizations. This study dwells upon one
factor –employee strengthsat work (ESAW) –problematizes, identifies the gap inits conceptualization,
deploys critical social systems theory and reconceptualizes the construct of ESAW by taking key
contextual factors into consideration. Thereafter, this study aims to develop a conceptual model and
makes propositions relatedto the mediating effects of ESAW on the association of leadership style and
employeeperformance.
Design/methodology/approach –Aimed at contributing to humanizingorganizations, this conceptual
study problematizes the construct of competency and the trait-based conceptualization of strengths in
identifying gaps in the constructof competency for humanizing organizations. Next, the studydeploys
the technique of constructmixology for evolving the new construct of ESAW.To empirically test ESAW in
the field, the authorsdeploy the critical social systems theory anddevelop a conceptual model. Further,
drawing upon the conceptualmodel and the extant literature, the authors develop many propositionsfor
enablingfuture research.
Findings –The study develops a new construct of ESAW that holds the promise of contributing to
humanizing organizations. By embedding the current trait-based conceptualization of employee
strengths to the context of the organization, the new five-factor construct of ESAW is indigenous to the
field of organizationscience, hence, has a higher relevance.The study develops a conceptual model and
makes propositionsfor empirically testing the new constructin the field that future researchersmay focus
upon.
Research limitations/implications –There is a compelling need for humanizing organizations. This
conceptualstudy attempts to bring back the focus of researcherson humanizingorganizations, within the
framework of the market-driven economy. The new construct of ESAW has huge potential for theory-
buildingand empirical testing.
Practical implications –Deployment of ESAW will contribute to humanizing organizations. The
construct of ESAW is relevant to practice as it has evolved from the domain of organization
science, unlike the earlier trait-based conceptualization of strength that emerged in
personality psychology. Practitioners can deploy the construct of ESAW and achieve the two
seemingly conflicting objectives of enabling employee well-being while also ensuring superior
performance.
Social implications –Any contribution toward humanizing organizations forebodes increasing the
social capital and the personal well-being of employees. If employees are happy at work, their
productivity increases. As per the broaden and build theory of Fredrickson, higher well-being and
productivity at workcreates a spiral of positivity that transcends the working lifeof an employee. Hence,
the study has huge social implications at times when the social fabric is stretched because of multiple
demandson an employee.
Originality/value –Constructs developedin other fields and adopted in organization sciencehave less
relevancethan those evolved in the domain of organization science.Past deficient conceptualization and
practices persist unless scholars logically challenge it an alternative and improved conceptualization
Vikas Rai Bhatnagar and
Ajay K. Jain are both based
at the Department of
Organizational Behaviour,
Management Development
Institute, Gurgaon, India.
Shiv S. Tripathi is based at
the Department of Strategic
Management, Management
Development Institute,
Gurgaon, India.
Sabir Giga is based at the
Faculty of Health and
Medicine, Lancaster
University, Lancaster, UK.
Received 20 July 2019
Revised 10 March 2020
Accepted 18 March 2020
The authors deeply
acknowledge the intuitive
guidance constantly extended
by Reverend Prof. Prem Saran
Satsangi, Chairman of Advisory
Committee on Education,
Dayalbagh Educational
Institute and the Spiritual
Leader of the Radhasoami
Faith.
DOI 10.1108/JABS-07-2019-0228 VOL. 14 NO. 5 2020, pp. 691-709, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1558-7894 jJOURNAL OF ASIA BUSINESS STUDIES jPAGE 691
provided. The new construct of ESAW uses the method of construct mixology after unravelling the
assumptionsthat impedes humanizing organizations.
Keywords Competency, Strengths, Problematization, Humanizing organizations,
Employee strengths at work, Construct development, Construct mixology
Paper type Conceptual paper
Introduction
Employees in modern organizations increasingly face problems such as stress-related
illness, burnout, absenteeism, violence and corruption, with nepotism and favoritism
assuming a new form of corruption that adversely impacts employee motivation (Iqbal and
Ahmad, 2020). Kalekin-Fishmanand Langman (2015) provide evidence of even knowledge
workers experiencing alienation due to regimentation of work; the compounding nature of
the concern is the lack of awareness of the alienated of their situation and they accepting
alienation as a norm (Erikson, 1985). Bullying at the workplace are not isolated events that
further adds to the stress of employees (Agarwal and Rai, 2019). In multinational
corporations, it is commonplace to have cultural friction when many parent country
nationals are posted in culturally distant locations, contributing to sub-optimal performance
of the subsidiary firm (Singh et al.,2019). Corporate malpractices are on the rise that
eventually leads to the downfall of firms (Gaur et al.,2019), posing yet a lot of stress on
employees.
The above condition of employees callsfor a renewed focus on humanizing organizations –
a quest for organizational scholars for many decades (Nord, 1978). How can we humanize
modern corporations such that employee’s well-being and the company’s profitability are
not a zero-sum game (one at the expense of the other) but corporations successfully
achieve both the objectives? Nord (1978) identifies five factors scholars agree that
contribute to humanizing organizations as follows:
1. employees treated as ends and not means to an end;
2. employees perform meaningful work;
3. employees are given opportunities to develop their unique potential;
4. employees are treated with dignity; and
5. employees have a say in making decisions, particularly aspects that affect their lives.
This study focuses on the aspect of “unique potential” of employees, known in the extant
literature as “strengths” (Rath and Conchie, 2009) that finds resonance in the surge of
interest on getting individual authenticity to work settings for attaining higher levels of
happiness and success (Cha et al., 2019).
How can organizations achieve the dual objectives of personal happiness and high
performance? The extant literature presents two antagonistic business models as follows:
the economistic business model –a corollary of market-driven economic systems –that
uses resources for furthering the wealthof shareholders and the humanistic business model
that place the interests of employees as central (Pirson et al., 2014). While the economistic
model favors performance and often sidesteps the interests of the employees, the
humanistic model furthers the interests of employees while occasionally compromises
performance. This paper deploys critical social systems theory (Fuchs and Hofkirchner,
2009) and achieves the reconciliation of the two seemingly antagonistic business models by
problematizing (Alvesson and Sandberg, 2011;Deacon, 2000) the predominant
organizational behavior construct of the economistic model (competency) and of the
humanistic model (strengths) and develops a new construct of employee strengths at work
(ESAW) by carrying out construct mixology (Newman et al.,2016). The new construct
addresses the deficiencies of the constructof competency (the economistic model) and the
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