Army Corps of Engineers

Applied research indicates strong connections between dimensions of the work place, stress and job satisfaction. Yet, there is an absence of theory to provide conceptual understanding of these relationships. In 1999, Sparks and Cooper advocated using job‐specific models of stress as a way of developing a better understanding of the relationships. The current study adopted this recommendation and investigated a specific job context, specifically, naval officer trainees undergoing their sea training. The results indicate that a general model of stress is unhelpful in identifying the predictors of stress and job satisfaction in specific job contexts. Instead, the authors recommend identifying salient workplace dimensions rather than a broad‐brush approach when seeking workplace associations with stress.

Workplace dimensions, stress and job satisfaction

The effect of diversity in individual prediscussion preferences on group decision quality was examined in an experiment in which 135 three-person groups worked on a personnel selection case with 4 alternatives. The information distribution among group members constituted a hidden profile (i.e., the correct solution was not identifiable on the basis of the members’ individual information and could be detected only by pooling and integrating the members’ unique information). Whereas groups with homogeneous suboptimal prediscussion preferences (no dissent) hardly ever solved the hidden profile, solution rates were significantly higher in groups with prediscussion dissent, even if none of these individual prediscussion preferences were correct. If dissent came from a proponent of the correct solution, solution rates were even higher than in dissent groups without such a proponent. The magnitude of dissent (i.e., minority dissent or full diversity of individual preferences) did not affect decision quality. The beneficial effect of dissent on group decision quality was mediated primarily by greater discussion intensity and to some extent also by less discussion bias in dissent groups.

Group decision making in hidden profile situations: dissent as a facilitator for decision quality.

El presente trabajo de investigacion de tipo aplicado toma los conceptos de los estilos de liderazgo transformacional y transaccional, y el desempeno laboral, con el objetivo de establecer las relaciones de influencia de ambos estilos de liderazgo con el desempeno laboral. Para alcanzarlo, se recolecto la informacion acerca de los estilos de liderazgo de 7 gerentes de Mabe, empresa multinacional dedicada a la fabricacion de electrodomesticos de linea blanca, para lo cual se utilizo el MLQ (Cuestionario de Liderazgo Multifactorial); y se obtuvo tambien por medio de una evaluacion global de desempeno, la informacion acerca del nivel de cumplimiento de los objetivos de los 40 colaboradores que hacen parte de la linea directa de los gerentes evaluados. 
 
Esta informacion se proceso y se estudio realizando analisis estadisticos descriptivos, dentro de los cuales se examino el comportamiento de los componentes del liderazgo transformacional y del liderazgo transaccional en los gerentes evaluados, y la calificacion de desempeno de los colaboradores que le reportan directamente a estos gerentes para entender el nivel de cumplimiento de los objetivos; y posteriormente se efectuaron analisis relacionales de tipo bivariado para identificar, tanto la relacion entre los componentes de los estilos de liderazgo transformacional y transaccional mostrados en los gerentes con el desempeno laboral de los colaboradores, como la relacion entre los estilos de liderazgo transformacional y transaccional con el desempeno laboral. 
 
Dentro de los principales resultados se obtuvo que los dos estilos de liderazgo estan presentes en los gerentes de la muestra y ambos producen el cumplimiento satisfactorio del desempeno, sin embargo, se observa lo que indica la teoria referente a la relacion de los estilos de liderazgo transformacional y transaccional con el desempeno laboral, evidenciando que el liderazgo transformacional es percibido en mayor proporcion por aquellos colaboradores que exceden en su desempeno de manera parcial o total siendo la motivacion inspiracional y la estimulacion intelectual los componentes que mas influyen; mientras que el estilo de liderazgo transaccional se presenta con mayor frecuencia influenciando a aquellos colaboradores que cumplen en su desempeno de acuerdo a lo esperado, siendo la recompensa contingente el componente que mas influye en la relacion.

Los estilos de liderazgo transformacional y transaccional, y su impacto en el desempeño laboral

Productive conflict in group decision making: genuine and contrived dissent as strategies to counteract biased information seeking☆

Provides future managers with information about human beings and their behaviour within the context of a business environment. The text includes issues such as how to motivate people, how to give them feedback on their performance, how to influence them and how to help them cope with stress.

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Behavior in organizations : understanding and managing the human side of work

OB: AN INTRODUCTION. The Nature and Study of Organization. BASIC HUMAN PROCESSES. Perceiving and Learning. Personality and Individual Differences. THE INDIVIDUAL IN THE ORGANIZATION. Motivation. Work-Related Attitudes. Becoming an Organizational Member: Solicitation and Careers. Stress. GROUP PROCESSES. Group Dynamics. Communication. Decision-Making. Co-operation and Conflict. INFLUENCING OTHERS. Power and Politics. Leadership. ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESSES. The Work Environment: Culture and Technology. Organizational Structure and Design. Organizational Change and Development.

Robert A. Baron

Papers

Behavior in organizations : understanding and managing the human side of work

Behavior in Organizations: Understanding & Managing the Human Side of Work