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employee's belief about their organisation (Kular, 2008). Employees with high cognitive engagement focus on their job and can easily ignore distractions (Khan, 2019).
Cognitive engagement is believed to be the primary function in becoming engaged since it is related to employees' rational and unique experiences and perspectives of their work (Joo, et al., 2017).
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a challenge to employees as well as not providing goals at all, decreases motivation and decreases performance. Thus, the goal-setting theory assumes the existence of a direct link between defined, specific, measurable goals and performance ( (Verbeeten, 2008); (Locke, 1990)).
Locke & Latham (2020) mentioned that goal setting is helpful in group and individual settings.
Meaning that setting a goal for a group might lead to enhancing performance as well.
Nevertheless, the group setting adds complexity to the scene since conflicts might occur among group members, especially if individual incentives are involved. The solution was to align the individual goals with the group goals; consequently, having personal goals compatible with the group goals will increase performance. In a study by DeShon, et al. (2004), individual goals' impact on performance was mediated by task strategy and individual effort. Nevertheless, group goals' impact on performance was mediated by a team effort.
Goals help the employees focus on essential matters, and goals energise employees, affect persistence and encourage employees to use their knowledge or acquire the knowledge they need. However, practical goal setting needs specific goals, challenges, commitment from the top management, publicity of the goal, control and feedback (Neubert & Dyck, 2016). Setting goals aligned with higher goals will create a sense of commitment from the top management.
Creating a performance management system based on the goals setting theory will generate a sense of control over the outcome with a feedback mechanism.
Goal setting theory was also a suitable predictor of employee engagement. Goal setting is a motivational theory that enhances employee performance. Motivation is a quality that can be found in engaged employees and lead to organisation efficacy; hence, goal setting can lead to employee engagement. According to Kahn's definition of employee engagement, employees are
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physically, emotionally and cognitively connected to their goals, and goal setting can push them toward achieving their goals accordingly; the two constructs are related (Shoaib & Kohli, 2017).
Goal setting has shown a positive impact on employee outcomes, and goal setting was related to several related concepts such as management by objectives and continuous improvements.
Accordingly, this concept can be linked to employee engagement which is noticed through engagement questionnaires such as Gallup, where four of its questions feature the idea of setting clear goals as a measure of engagement (Medlin & Green, 2009). Goal setting and appropriate feedback were related to a set of cognitive variables that, in turn, predict performance (Kuvaas, 2007) and design a sound performance management system linked to setting employee goals to enhance employee engagement (Mone & London, 2021).
According to Kahn's definition of engagement, meaningfulness is considered an excellent motivator for engagement. It can be achieved by providing employees meaning in their work which develops the feeling of worthwhile and valuable (Gruman & Saks, 2011). Therefore, setting hard, challenging, and time-framed goals provides meaning for employees' work and leads to development engagement. (Shoaib & Kohli, 2017) explained this relation by stating that there are three attributes of goal-directed behaviour, namely (1) self-generated, (2) value significance and (3) goal causation. Those three attributes are related to Kahn's antecedents of engagement, meaningfulness, safety and availability; accordingly, the two constructs can be said to be connected.
For the purpose of this research, it is assumed that setting a goal for the employees and aligning the individual goals to the department goals increases employee motivation and eventually leads to both enhancing employee engagement and, as a final result, boosting their performance.
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Aligning goals to higher goals and broader purpose gives meaning to the employee work, sets challenges and motivates individuals to bring out their best.
2.4.2 Job Demand –Resources (JD-R) Model
Job demands include the physical, social or organisational dimensions of the job. At the same time, job resources include physical, psychological, social and organisational aspects that play a role in attaining work goals, decreasing job demand and reducing physiological and psychological costs or enhancing the personnel's learning and growth. Job resources include salary, work security, performance feedback, and social support (Kwon and Park, 2019). The JD-R model has connected the burnout-antithesis approach ( (Schaufeli, 2013); (Shuck, 2011)).
The job demands-resources (JD-R) model was introduced by Baker and Demerouti and is considered the primary model for clarifying the antecedents and outcomes of employee engagement ( (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007); (Bakker & Demerouti., 2014) ; (Bakker &
Demerouti, 2008)). Two psychological processes can be found in the JD-R model; the first is regarding job demand and how it predicts adverse psychological and organisational outcomes.
The second aspects concern the job and the personal resources as a predictor of a positive outcome (Bakker & Demerouti, 2008).
Bakker & Demerouti (2007, p. 312) acknowledged that "job resources refer to those physical, psychological, social, or organisational aspects of the job that are either/or: (i) functional in achieving work goals. (ii) Seduce job demands and the associated physiological and psychological costs, and (iii) stimulate personal growth, learning, and development". Previous research has identified several job resources related to employee engagement; for example, job autonomy, opportunities for development, rewards and recognition, supervisory support, job
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variety, and work role fit were significant predictors of engagement. Examples of personal resources include self-efficacy and optimism. Beyond the previous examples' effect, researchers argued that contextual factors such as senior leadership support, organisational vision and goals' clarity, organisational support and climate, and supportive human resource management practices could also play a crucial role in shaping employee engagement (Albrecht, et al., 2018).
Strategic alignment was considered individual/organisational interface resources (Bakker, 2011) that enhance engagement. The following diagram (Figure 7) presents the JD-R model, where the relationship between strategic alignment, employee engagement, and organisational performance is clearly shown.
FIGURE 7JD-R MODEL (SOURCE:(BAKKER &DEMEROUTI,2007, P.313)) 2.4.2 Engagement Theories
The Engagement Theory by Kahn (1990)
Kahn focused on the psychological conditions' significance, namely, "meaningfulness, safety, and availability", in clarifying employees' engagement and disengagement states. Thus, Kahn's
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theory presents the link between employees' experimental conditions and work roles (Kwon &
Park, 2019). The theory is based upon two premises: first, "psychological experience of work derived people behaviours and attitude" and second, "individual, interpersonal, group, intergroup and organizational factor simultaneously influence these experiences" (Kahn, 1990, p. 695).
Meaningfulness designates employees' perception that their work tasks are valuable (Upadhyay
& Palo, 2013). It answers the question of how meaningful it is to put effort into reaching a specific performance or sense of return on investment (Kahn, 1990).
Safety refers to the perception that the work environment is supportive and trusty (Upadhyay &
Palo, 2013); in other words, how safe is it for an employee to do so (Kahn, 1990). Finally, availability, which means the employees have "physical, psychological and emotional" reasons to engage in their job tasks at any time (Upadhyay & Palo, 2013) or are they available to do so (Kahn, 1990). This theory is connected to the engagement need-satisfaction approach ( (Schaufeli, 2013); (Shuck, 2011)).