Abstract
At the time of the study, organizations were missing opportunities for innovation and bottom-line growth by failing to align performance management systems with basic human needs and dignity needs. Employees were missing opportunities for accessing their potential, and were failing to thrive. Organizational leaders needed to understand the importance of integrating basic human needs and the essentials of dignity as attributes of organizational systems design in order to maximize employee engagement, attract and retain top talent, increase innovation, and optimize bottom-line growth.
This research explored the role of dignity in organizational systems design. A qualitative research approach, specifically case study methodology, was implemented to examine the impact of how organizations create a workplace culture that perpetuates dignity. Data collection was conducted with employees of a nonprofit that focused on access and equity in education. The study included fourteen participants, which represented 100 percent of the organization’s employees.
Results of this study indicate that a core requirement of experiencing dignity in the workplace is having one’s voice heard and the experience of having one’s authentic self embraced and honored. Having one’s voice heard cultivates the trust to develop and sustain employee engagement. In order to show up authentically and amplify one’s voice, there must be psychological safety in the workplace and employees, especially people of color and LGBTQAI employees, must experience their identity being fully embraced. This empowers employees to act independently and autonomously. When this behavior is acknowledged and affirmed, employees experience motivation, and engagement is self-perpetuating.
Degree Date
Spring 5-16-2020
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Department
Graduate Liberal Studies
Advisor
David Deggs, PhD
Second Advisor
Jennifer Parvin, PhD
Third Advisor
Robert Hunt, PhD
Number of Pages
216
Format
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Short, Robyn, "Developing and Sustaining Organizational Systems That Honor the Dignity Needs of Stakeholders" (2020). Graduate Liberal Studies Theses and Dissertations. 1.
https://scholar.smu.edu/simmons_gls_etds/1
Included in
Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Leadership Studies Commons, Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons, Organizational Communication Commons, Organization Development Commons, Other Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons
