Employee engagement: Driving strategy implementation through dimensions of organisation

Abstract

Research worldwide reports low levels of employee engagement reflecting employee well-being. This observation spells dire consequences for enterprise performance, expressed as goal achievement, and attained via strategy. Strategy implementation failure adds to enterprise performance pressures, while reducing employee well-being. Research investigating employee engagement as driver of strategy implementation through dimensions of organisation is limited. This paper conceptually examines how employee engagement can be enhanced while driving strategy implementation through dimensions of organisation. The Nienaber and Martins (2015, Journal of Contemporary Management, 12(1), 401–425) survey results serve as illustration. The conclusions arrived at here show that all six factors – at individual, team/unit, and enterprise levels – can be classified according to the dimensions of organisation. Moreover, the dimensions of organisation are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but rather interrelated, and influence employee engagement in unexpected ways. The contribution of this paper stems from the promise that dimensions of organisation serve as mechanism to drive strategy implementation via employee engagement.

Exploratory study

“…Research shows that organisational effectiveness (or performance, outcomes or goal achievement) can be improved, mainly by enhancing strategy implementation (Mintzberg, 1994; Cocks, 2010; Nienaber, 2019). Strategy, the tool general management uses to attain organisational goals, and thus organisational effectiveness (or performance or outcomes), breaks down, resulting in a sizeable gap between planned and realised performance, which jeopardizes organisational competitiveness (Ansoff, 1988; Cocks, 2010; Grant, 2018; Köseoglu et al , 2018; Lê and Jarzabkowski, 2015; Mankins and Steele, 2005; Nienaber, 2017a).…”

“…Interaction forms part of the structural model of strategy implementation proposed by Skivington and Daft (1991), specifically processes, which is largely unobservable (Nienaber, 2019) and is reflected in Figure 1 below.…”

Examining the role of internal communication and employee engagement in Cyprus-based medium-sized organisations in times of challenging strategic changes

“…A close but cordial relationship among the management and employees is essential. Nienaber (2019) argued that employee engagement could be identified in the workers' well-being, performance, and ability to achieve goals. In the study, the researchers highlighted the importance of employee engagement on strategy implementation.…”

The Extent of Blue Ocean Leadership, Employee Engagement and Team Performance During Covid-19 Pandemic

“…TF was intellectualized as an indicator of output and effectiveness and creativity success metrics have been used (Van Woerkom & Croon, 2009). Whereas previous researchers (Mathieu, Maynard, Rapp & Gilson, 2008;Morgeson, Lindoerfer, & Loring, 2010) saw TF as behaviour in the achievement of set team goals and is considered a fundamental dimension of team effectiveness. Since then, teamwork is formed to perform tasks and produces output that at least meets the needs (Hackman, 1987).…”