The quality effect of supervisory leadership in the employee’s performance and engagement: Building empirical evidence from the civil service in Peru

Abstract

El estudio aborda los principales factores que inciden en la mejora del servicio civil en el Perú. Enfocando desde las diferentes mejores prácticas y la teoría existente, el estudio pretende proponer alternativas para superar la situación del sector público en el Perú, centrándose en la fuerte relación existente entre el líder/supervisor y los empleados en las organizaciones. En efecto, el presente estudio explora el rol práctico y conceptual del empleado en la función pública peruana, este factor está representado en el compromiso y desempeño de los empleados, un fenómeno particular que existe en la cultura organizacional en la función pública peruana. Empleando datos de la Encuesta de Principios de Mérito 2016 de la Junta de Protección de Sistemas de Mérito de EE. UU. (MSPB), este estudio ha recopilado datos de varias organizaciones públicas en el servicio civil peruano, encuestando a sus empleados y líderes/supervisores Los hallazgos indican que algunas de las variables moderadoras juegan un papel que afecta la relación entre el líder y el empleado. Asimismo, existe un efecto correlacional entre la calidad del liderazgo y el desempeño de los empleados, lo que refuerza la necesidad de incentivar futuras investigaciones en beneficio de la nación.

This study addresses the main factors that affect the improvement of the civil service in Peru. This importance currently is reflected in the weak civil service system that the national government provides through its officials to the overall society. Approaching from the different best-practices and existing theory, the study pretends to propose alternatives to overcome the situation of the public sector in Peru, focusing on the existing strong relationship between the leader/ supervisor and employees in organizations. Indeed, the present study explores the practical and conceptual role of the employee in the Peruvian civil service, this factor is represented in the employee engagement and employee performance – a particular phenomenon that exists in the organizational culture in the Peruvian civil service. In fact, it portrays the leadership of the supervisors as a social exchange relationship that exists in organizations. Therefore, there are also different factors that moderate this human relationship (i.e. work environment, fair treatment, preventive measures, complaint and resolution factor, the career entry and interests) which create a moderating factor and a spillover effect on the whole organization. Employing U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) Merit Principles Survey 2016 Data, this study has collected data from several public organizations in the Peruvian civil service, surveying their employees and leaders/ supervisors. It examines a previous mediator-outcome model, and the effects of the quality of leadership in the employee’s engagement and performance. The findings indicate that some of the moderator variables play an affecting role in the relationship between leader and employee. Likewise, there is a correlational effect between quality of leadership and employee performance, which enforces the necessity of motivating future research in benefit of the nation. Some practical, theoretical and policy implications are developed in the concluding section.