The Effect of Appreciative Environment on Meaningful Performance

By:

Yudo Anggoro

Ida I Dewa Gede Raka

Department of Industrial Engineering

Bandung Institute of Technology

Abstract

The knowledge-based economy era started with the growing of numbers of knowledge workers. The knowledge workers are people with higher education level who ask for more self control when they are working. They work not only for earning their living, but it is more for doing something meaningful from their job (Raka, 2003).

Previously people thought that the individual internal condition made an important role in affecting the individual performance. But actually the environmental condition affects more significant in the individual performance. People need an appreciative environment, an environment which always supports people developing their abilities and actualizing themselves. The appreciative environment consists of appreciative leader, appreciative system, and appreciative community (Febriansyah, 2004). The appreciative environment affects the individual internal condition, such as self efficacy, competency, and freedom from fear. Having this internal condition, people will have a willingness to share their knowledge to others, and it will minimize the knowing-doing gap. And finally, people will able to do perform something that will bring meaning for them, an action that brings significant contribution not only for themselves, but also for their community.

This research examined the effect of appreciative environment to self-efficacy and freedom from fear. It also looked at the effect of self efficacy and competency to the knowing-doing gap, moderated by trust. It also examined the effect of competency and freedom from fear to the willingness to share knowledge, moderated by trust. Finally, it examined the effect of the knowing-doing gap and willingness to share knowledge to meaningful performance, moderated by shared-vision.The data of the research collected by questionnaires which was distributed to 2 state-owned companies and 5 private companies located in Jakarta, Bandung, and Bogor.

The result of this research indicated that meaningful performance affected positively by knowledge-sharing process and this positive effect will be strengthened by shared-vision. Meaningful performance also affected, but negatively, by the knowing-doing gap. The existence of shared-vision will decrease this negative effect. The sharing knowledge process affected positively by the combination of competency and selff efficacy, and this positive effect will increase when there is trust. The knowing-doing gap affected negatively by the combination of competency and freedom from fear. This negative effect will be increase with the existence of trust. The self efficacy itself affected positively by appreciative environment which consists of appreciative leader, appreciative system, and appreciative community. The freedom from fear also affected positively by appreciative environment.

Keywords : Meaningful performance, the knowing-doing gap, knowledge sharing, shared-vision, self efficacy, competency, freedom from fear, trust, appreciative environment, appreciative leader, appreciative system, appreciative community.