The role of supervisor support in predicting employee job satisfaction from their perception of the performance management system : a test of competing models in engineering environments

Abstract

Past studies of performance management systems (PMS) have focused more on designing the framework and less on the effect it has on employees. Moreover, employees in developing countries may not be knowledgeable or familiar with PMS. This paper proposes two competing statistical models to examine the roles that supervisor support (SS) has in engineering organisations. It was found that SS is a mediator, but not a moderator, in the relationship between PMS and employee job satisfaction. In other words, SS partially explains why employees have positive perceptions of their jobs based on their evaluation of the current PMS; SS thus enhances the PMS in engineering organisations.Vorige studies van prestasiebestuurstelsels het op die ontwerp van die raamwerk, eerder as die effek daarvan op werknemers, gefokus. Verder is werknemers in ontwikkelende lande dikwels nie ingelig en vertroud met prestasiebestuurstelsels nie. Twee meedingende statistiese modelle om die rol van toesighouerondersteuning te ondersoek word voorgestel. Daar is gevind dat toesighouerondersteuning in die verhouding tussen prestasiebestuurstelsels en werksbevrediging ‘n bemiddelaar eerder as ‘n moderator is. Toesighouerondersteuning verduidelik dus hoekom werknemers positiewe persepsies van hulle werksgeleenthede koester, gegrond op hul evaluering van die huidige prestasiebestuurstelsel. Toesighouerondersteuning bevorder dus die prestasiebestuurstelsel in ingenieursfirmas.