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Engaged in Engagement: We Are Delighted We Did It

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2015

William H. Macey  and
Benjamin Schneider
William H. Macey*
Affiliation:
Valtera Corporation
Benjamin Schneider
Affiliation:
Valtera Corporation and University of Maryland
*
E-mail: wmacey@valtera.com, Address: Valtera Corporation, 1701 Golf Road, Suite 2-1100, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008
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Abstract

We emphasize that science and practice issues are equally salient when pursuing thinking and research on employee engagement. We agree with much of what the commentaries have to say, especially that organizational competitive advantage is the relevant focus of engagement research and practice and that engagement is not a new construct but one that required clarification vis-a-vis existing constructs. We also agree that state engagement can be highly variable, that disengagement needs study, that negative situations can induce engagement behaviors, that engagement surveys should yield actionable data, and that people can be hired who are more likely to be engaged. We disagree with the idea that all employee attitudes are essentially equal and that existing conceptualizations of performance make engagement behavior a nonuseful construct.

Type
Response
Information
Industrial and Organizational Psychology , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , March 2008 , pp. 76 - 83
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 2008 

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Footnotes

*

William H. Macey, Valtera Corporation

**

Benjamin Schneider, Valtera Corporation and University of Maryland

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