Analyzing the Individual, Institutional, and Structural Triple Factors Affecting the Performance of Iranian Parliamentarians

Document Type : Original Article

Author

• Salar Moradi

Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Payam-e-Noor University, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22067/tmj.2023.82357.1430

Abstract

 
1-INTRODUCTION
The performance of human resources is a fundamental factor in an organization, and the increase in organizational performance can be under various factors. In this regard, extensive research has been conducted on human resource performance, and many variables have been identified with direct and indirect effects on the performance of employees and human resources. In recent years, the creation of efficient organizations in providing services and responding to citizens' demands has been the focus of public sector managers in most countries. Organizations must define their formal structure in such a way that they can be an efficient organization. The parliament and the legislature, as one of the most influential organizations or institutions with legal authority, are not exempt from this rule, and in this institution, paying attention to the performance of human resources is an undeniable necessity. Also, many all-round developments of the countries depend on the institution of the parliament and the representatives' performance. Accordingly, as a symbol of the people's sovereignty in political systems based on representation, the parliament plays a vital role in determining public policies by holding the legislation, representation, and supervision tasks. The quantitative and qualitative level of the performance of the representatives and the institution of the Islamic Council, along with a set of soft and hard instruments and personal characteristics and capabilities of the representatives, is influenced and interacted with the environment and the overall structure of power and politics in the Islamic Republic. Based on this, this article aims to evaluate and analyze the individual, institutional, and structural variables affecting the performance of the members of the Islamic Council.
 
2-THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
In general, the review of the conducted research shows the fact that all factors affecting the performance of human resources come from three areas: individual, institutional, and structural. In terms of individual factors, Brown (2014), Indahingwati et al. (2019), Mitchell et al. (2020), and Paais and Pattiruhu (2020) consider personal characteristics and capabilities, knowledge and literacy, and individual capacities to be involved in the performance of human resources. In terms of institutional factors, Spender and Kijne (2012), Meng and Berger (2019), and Thanh et al. (2020) have examined organizational structures and practices, regulations and guidelines, and satisfaction. In terms of structural factors, Chen et al. (2012), Limaj and Bernroider (2019), Meng and Berger (2019), and Harijanti et al. (2021) considered social, cultural, economic, and political conditions; and Cai et al. (2018) and Cetinkaya and Rashid (2018) the role of the effective media on human resource functions.
 
3-METHODOLOGY
In terms of method, the current research was a descriptive-correlation study carried out with a survey. The statistical population of the research included the representatives of the Islamic Council in different periods, among which a sample size of 150 was selected based on Lin and Morgan's table. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire distributed among the sample members by purposeful sampling. Finally, 141 questionnaires were completed and subjected to the analysis. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential techniques in Spss and AMOS software. It is worth noting that the questionnaire's validity was ascertained by considering the experts' opinions, and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficients greater than 0.7.
 
4-RESULTS & DISCUSSION
To determine the intensity and direction of the influence of independent variables on the performance of representatives in the two dimensions of legislation and supervision, a structural equation model has been used, which defines how to measure a variable using two or more observed variables. Concerning the model fitness evaluation, the absolute, comparative, and parsimonious fit indices indicated that the model fit is acceptable. The results showed that the structural and institutional factors had positive and significant effects on the overall performance of the representatives, while the impact of individual factors was not confirmed. The insignificant effect of these factors may be due to the high power of structural and institutional factors in the country's political system. As a result, in many cases supporting a candidate, some parties create expectations for the representative of a constituency that directly affect their executive and supervisory performance. In general, these arguments are highly aligned with the results of the hypotheses testing.
 
5-CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS
The performance of the parliament representatives is generally assessed concerning two tasks: legislation and supervision. If these two particular tasks are done well, the overall dynamics of the system will follow. Efficient laws are the laws that representatives have taken care of drafting and approving. Specifically, the extent of citizens' adherence to the laws is mainly the product of the legislators' correct view of the conditions of both society and citizens. In the regulatory dimension, the efficiency of other executive and regulatory institutions can be derived from the representatives' performance. In other words, no matter how successful the representatives are in their supervisory function, subordinate institutions can also perform their duties well within the framework of the law. In addition, nowadays, the problem of corruption and the lack of proper functioning of some institutions of society has led to the public distrust of many citizens towards the pillars of the system, which can be turned into a prominent opportunity if the parliament properly performs its monitoring duty. Therefore, the quality of its legislative and supervisory performance is very effective in the sustainable development of the country and society. Accordingly, performance measurement is a process that aims to determine the degree of adequacy and worthiness of representatives in terms of performing assigned duties and accepting responsibilities and can be affected by various factors. According to the analytical and descriptive results from examining the influence of independent variables on dependent variables, it can be said that individual, institutional, and structural factors more or less affect the behavior and performance of the Islamic Parliament representatives. On the one hand, the cultivation and optimal use of the media in terms of educating and informing citizens about the importance of the Islamic Council, and on the other hand, the local, regional, and national monitoring representatives' performance may have dramatic roles in improving their performance.

Keywords

• Islamic Council
• representatives
• performance
• supervision
• legislation

References

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