Technology management competencies as predictor of job satisfaction of Pakistani university librarians
Despite the growing literature advocating the significance and importance of technology management competencies for librarians, empirical studies focusing on the topic is still very scarce. In particular, the study on technology management competencies involving Pakistani university librarians is unavailable. Drawing upon this gap, this study reports on the findings of an investigation of technology management competencies and job satisfaction among Pakistani university librarians. This study used survey research method involving 225 samples, randomly selected from a population of 540. The result of this study reveal that four
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Numerous research findings have demonstrated a satisfied worker as an effective job performer (Boyatzis 1982). Therefore, job satisfaction of university librarians is one of the considerable dynamics in augmenting their job performance. Job satisfaction is portrayed as an attitude of persons towards their job (Aydogdu and Askgil 2011). It denotes the insight of potentials, prospects and aptitude (Testa 2001) and people’s emotional and mental retorts to their work (Hart 2010).
On the other hand, like a satisfied worker, a competent employee is a prerequisite for any organizations. Hoffmann (1999) argued that different scholars conceptualized the term competencies in their own individual perspectives, such as psychologists termed competencies as ‘the measurement of capabilities’; HR managers called competencies as ‘individual performance and instrument of strategic management’; while educationists define competencies as ‘work preparation and professional recognition’ (Burogyne 1993). To avoid any conceptual ambiguities, this empirical study describes the term competencies as ‘the knowledge, skills, and attitude of an individual’. These three terms are further elaborated as: 1) knowledge- person range of information, 2) skill - level to utilize knowledge, 3) attitude - job-related thoughts, feelings and motivation (Masrek et al. 2012).
In the contemporary period
Documented in an employee survey (2012) conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employees (NACE) the belief by many of the employers surveyed set a number of employee competencies they felt were essential. The findings resulted in a list of capabilities they felt were needed in order to proficiently desired by organizations. Effective verbal articulation within and outside of the organization’s structure, a team player that will a readily work with others, an administrator and convergent thinker, obtain and process data, while planning, organizing, and prioritizing work.
“We all have competencies. They are the sum of our experiences and the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes we have acquired during our lifetime” (Pickett, 1998, p. 103). A successful organization will have a set of competencies defined. Having competencies identified outlines the framework of standards that a company and employees should follow. There is a tendency to list a large number of competencies when creating the standards for an organization. Companies should focus on five to seven key core competencies that are needed in order to be successful. The core competencies should encompass the growth of the company, staff, and public perception.
CSW—Corporation for a Skilled Workforce—in its report titled “Making a Market for Competency-Based Credentials”—has mentioned that earlier, employees, students, and employers used their respective academic diplomas and degrees like a “proxy” for various knowledge and skills required to perform their jobs. However, time has come to complement this practice, thanks to the mounting interest in various competency-centric credentials. It’s not less than true that top-notch skill-based credentialing in the HR and talent management space can offer more insights into a professional’s proficiencies.
Competencies are the set of skills that a leader or follower need to have to meet the demands necessary to perform their role within an organization (Boyatzis, 2011). Competencies can be broken down into two groups’ hard skills and soft skills (Marques, 2012). Hard skills include the set of technical and specific requirements that can be measured and analyzed to create a set of concrete measureable goals (Marques, 2012). An example of hard skills are how many calls a customer service representative can take in an eight hour time frame (Marques, 2012). Soft skills are how employees relate to others (Marques, 2012). Soft skills are more difficult to learn (Marques, 2012). Examples of soft skills
The purpose in establishing competencies for leaders should be to better define what functions leaders must perform to make themselves and others in their organizations effective. Many competency definitions include reference to clusters of knowledges, skills, abilities, and traits that lead to successful performance (Newsome, Catano, Day, 2003). Yet competency labels are typically expressed in either process or functional terms. This can lead to confusion as to what competencies actually represent for leadership and organizations. Competency frameworks or models should serve as the roadmap to individual and organizational leader success. The value of competencies
There seem to be a variety of different definitions, but competencies can be thought of as a composite of worker-oriented characteristics which can be linked to knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs), and may be connected to higher performance (Scotty & Reynolds, 2010). Another definition of competencies is a combination of KSAOs and behaviors used to make assessments of overall performance (National Institutes of Health [NIH], 2017). KSAOs can be considered discrete data (Scott & Reynolds, 2010), in that they are narrowly defined and either individuals have a particular characteristic or they do not. For example, knowledge is information an individual either possesses or does not at the time of an assessment; although knowledge can be gained at a later time, it
The relationship between job satisfaction and job performance needs to be analyzed before a decision can be made to increase job satisfaction to positively affect job performance. Conventional opinion holds that increased levels of job satisfaction leads to increased job performance. Empirical evidence does not validate such a strong correlation. Alternative models exist that describe job satisfaction and job performance having mutual influence on one another as well as no influence at all. Job performance may also be enhanced through organizational and personal factors like reward systems and self-esteem. Job performance itself has multiple aspects and each aspect can be affected through different means. A simplistic correlation between job satisfaction and job performance should be avoided. Job performance can be improved by providing training and development opportunities to employees.
According to psychologist Dr Daniel Goleman, “what really matters for success, character, happiness and life long achievements is a definite set of emotional skills” (Goleman). Observations indicate that organizations seek the same set of competencies; emotional intelligence, good judgement, integrity, global mindset, resilience and learning agility (Chamorro-Premuzic, 2015). These competencies, are an intrinsic aspect with regard to workplace performance and success in business. Having an in-depth understanding of my skills is important for effective workplace performance.
Job satisfaction is a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences. It has been treated both as a general attitude and satisfaction with five specific dimensions of the job: pay, the work itself, promotion opportunities, supervision, and coworkers. Challenging work, valued rewards, opportunities for advancement, competent supervision, and supportive coworkers are dimensions of the job that can lead to satisfaction (Nelson & Quick, 2013, pg.
Competency is the combination of observable and measurable knowledge, skills, abilities and personal attributes that contribute to enhanced employee performance and ultimately result in organizational success. To understand competencies, it is important to define the various components of competencies.
Competency models are the compilation of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other traits needed for effective performance in an employment position (Mansfield, 1996; Parry, 1996; Kochanski, 1997; Mirabile, 1997; Green, 1999; Lucia & Lepsinger, 1999; Rodriguez, Patel, Bright, Gregory, and Gowing, 2002; Schippmann et al., 2000). The competency model can thus be said to be a systematic arrangement of competencies. Campion et al. (2011) proclaims that the competency model is a vital innovation, which assists organisations in focussing on job-related information and personnel skills for managing employees. Parry (1996) and Olesen, White & Lemmer (2007) assert that these models seek to segregate top performers from average performers. Competencies continue to attract attention as a significant instrument for recruitment, compensation, and rewards; training and development; and succession planning (O’ Neil& Doig, 1995).Hoffman (1999) says that the concept of competency has been described from many perspectives, but all had one common factor: the aim of competencies remains increasing individuals’ performance at
Socio cultural and individual competencies are vital for business. Socio cultural and individual capabilities are major for a person who include all hands on deck, and to oversee business at different levels and in distinctive areas. Competency is a bound of ability, learning and expert state of mind that can be upgraded with experience. There are different segments of competency, which are sorted according to their functional roles. Managerial skills involve the capacity like vital & human asset administration, operational & money related administration, inventory network and logistic administration etc. Environmental competencies comprises business, monetary and legal business information alongside the business pattern and territorial necessities. Interpersonal abilities are otherwise called behavioural capabilities, which are structured by duty, administration,
In his article, Lim presents information that showed that employed individuals spend most of their time doing their jobs, and feeling better about their jobs which indicate that these feelings are likely to affect their lives either positively or negatively. Lim looked at job satisfaction of IT workers at member libraries and examined library IT workers ' job satisfaction according to demographic, socioeconomic, and, in particular, work-related variables. Lim defined job satisfaction as an individual 's feelings and evaluative judgment about one 's job. Other research supports this view. Hackman
As the leader develops themselves and the competencies of their employees, they must turn their attention toward the development of organizational competencies. These competencies will be dictated by the industry or business in which the organization operates. For instance, a banking firm may find a high need for competencies related to market speculation, interest rate projection, and time value studies. A poultry processing firm on the other hand may find a need for competencies related to animal science, animal welfare, veterinary science and the like. No industry or business will have the same competency requirements, even among companies within the same industry as needs are differentiated based upon the market segments in which they compete. Time and time again, I have observed companies who take competency models of other like organizations with the hopes that it will provide the same success. Ultimately, these methods are short lives, as are any achieved success as the organization had no investment in their creation.
Job satisfaction is a positive feeling about a person’s job which is a result of the appraisal of its characteristics. Some people have positive feelings about their jobs while some have negative (Robbins, Judge & Sanghi).