The Impact of Higher Education on Employees Performance in the UAE Public Sector - Literature review Example

hе Imрасt оf Нighеr Еduсаtiоn оn Еmрlоyееs Реrfоrmаnсе in the UАЕ Public Sесtоr Name Course Date Literature review Introduction The education level of a person refers to the academic credentials that the person has obtained. Employee performance considers the involvement of the employee in activities that promote and strengthen the effectiveness of the organization. According to Human Capital Theory, the two most important forms of human capital employees are likely to acquire are education and job experience. Various researches have shown that organizations that invest in human capital end up recording a net increase in their performance (Jarrar & Schiuma, 2007). This chapter therefore looks at literature and studies on the role that high education level of employees can play in their performance in the organization. Relationship between high education and employee performance According to research, education being part of human capital indicates the abilities of an individual as well as an individual’s accumulated knowledge. According to Ree, Earles, & Teachout, (1994), the ability of an individual refers to his power, strength and the capacity of an individual to perform a task. Individuals with high levels of education are found to have greater ‘fluid and crystallized intelligence’. Fluid and crystallized intelligence were developed by psychologist Raymond Cattell who explained fluid intelligence as being able to solve new problems, ability to use logic when dealing with new situations and ability to identify trends. Crystallized intelligence is defined by Cattell as the ability to use the knowledge and experience that an individual has gained. In an organization, an employee with greater fluid and crystallized is able to understand information related to his or her job and the related duties (Cattell, 1987). Education promotes the ability of an individual to perform tasks as it enables them to acquire expertise related to their job, as well as application of knowledge in their job practice. A study by Hunter & Hunter, 1984; Schmidt & Hunter, (1998) to find out the relationship between education level and task performance found that education promotes cognitive ability of an individual and hence their job performance. The study also found out that education was a key contributor to job success in all areas. This is because education enables the learning of knowledge related to job thereby promoting job performance. Further studies indicate that education enhances a person’s work values. These are intrinsic perspectives regarding what is wrong and what is right in the work place. According to a study by Maglen (1990), well educated employees bear the skills that are necessary for improving the organization. Consequently, when an organization values educated employees, they develop a sense of self confidence, self-worth and dignity. These factors give them a sense of satisfaction that enables them work towards organizational goals. The value that is given to employees by the organization also encourages the employees in their effort towards enhancing the goals of the organization and also to add value to the performance of the organization. A study by Rotundo and Sackett’s (2002) identified that highly educated employee do not engage in counterproductive work habits. Such behaviors include workplace aggression such as fighting, damaging of other people’s property, absenteeism and lateness. The study found that the highly educated employees are less likely to engage in counterproductive behaviors. They demonstrate more citizenship behaviors as compared to their less educated employees. Other studies have shown that high education level leads to strengthening work ethics which in turn strengthens job performance. Similarly, higher education has been shown to promote social ties among people of a particular profession and this promotes job success. Education is also likely to increases an employee’s performance because it imparts in individuals values that are likely to promote job success. These are value such as integrity, sense of responsibility, good work relationships and honesty. These values are also likely to promote teamwork which makes employees to be more productive. Avolio and Waldman (1990) found out that the relationship between high education level and employee performance to be higher for individuals in highly complex jobs. This is because such jobs require high level of intelligence and proper job knowledge. Such jobs require greater cognitive abilities that low complex jobs. In testing the relationship between education level and the performance of employees, a study by Mehrabi at al. (2012) found out that education significantly influence the performance of employees, and increasing the level of education was also found to increase the performance of an employee. The study also states that it is the role of the leadership of an organization to encourage employees to acquire higher levels of education in order to improve their performance hence the general performance of the organization. Education empowers the employees and makes them able to perform towards the goals of the organization. It is also important for an organization to create a learning culture that would encourage employees to aim at acquiring higher levels of education. Education levels for UAE employees in the public sector UAE has invested in higher education aimed at influencing job performance for those who are employed. For example the United Arab Emirates University has been the leading institution in various distinguished careers in the country. The aim of providing high levels of education for those in distinguished careers is to change the attitude of the people towards their career performance as well as to better understand why their job performance needs to be evaluated (UAE Cabinet, 2011). To enhance the performance of employees in the public sector, the Federal Authority for Government Resources issues a law aimed at enhancing the performance of employees. One of the features of this law is to enhance the performance of the employees by laying down a culture that would encourage advancement of education and development of employees. Conclusion Many organizations in UAE have also resorted into recruiting individuals with high education attainment because high education not only reflects high performance but also values that are associated with fewer counterproductive behaviors. A highly educated person is also most likely to benefit from job experience because the person is already equipped with analytical knowledge which will enable him to learn more from what he/she is doing. The person is therefore able to acquire further knowledge through job practice References Avolio BJ, Waldman DA. (1990). An examination of age and cognitive test performance across job complexity and occupational types. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75, 43–50. Cattell, R. B. (1987). Intelligence: Its structure, growth, and action. New York: Elsevier Science Hunter JE, Hunter RF. (1984). Validity and utility of alternative predictors of job performance. Psychological Bulletin, 96, 72–98. Jarrar, Y., & Schiuma, G. (2007).Measuring performance in the public sector: challenges and trends.Measuring Business Excellence, 11 (4), 4 – 8 Maglen LR. (1990). Challenging the human capital orthodoxy: The education-productivity link re-examined. The Economic Record, 66, 281–294. Mehrabi, J., Roozbehani, M., Naseri, S. & Samangooei, B. (2012). Impact of Leadership Development on Employees' Performance: Case Study: Employees of Customs Headquarters. International Journal of Business, Humanities and Technology Vol. 2 No. 5; Ree MJ, Earles JA, Teachout MS. (1994). Predicting job performance: Not much more than g. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79, 518–524. Rotundo M, Sackett PR. (2002). The relative importance of task, citizenship, and counterproductive performance to global ratings of job performance: A policy-capturing approach. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 66–80. Schmidt FL, Hunter JE. (1998). 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