Showing papers in "Group & Organization Management in 1986"
TL;DR: This article drew attention to the distinction between individual ism and collectivism, and developed a questionnaire measure of individualism for organizational scientists, which is based on the concept of "individualism" and "collectivism".
Abstract: This article draws attention to the distinction between individual ism and collectivism, indicates its importance for organizational scientists, and develops a questionnaire measure of individualis...
384 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the effects of group cohesiveness and leader behavior on subordinate satisfaction in a military organization and found that subordinates were more satisfied with leaders who exhibited high levels of initiating structure and consideration.
Abstract: The present study examined the effects of group cohesiveness and leader behavior on subordinate satisfaction in a military organiza tion. A total of 203 cadets completed measures of group cohesiveness, leader initiating structure, leader consideration, and several satisfac tion scales. Analyses indicated that (1) subordinates were more satisfied with leaders who exhibited high levels of initiating struc ture and consideration; (2) subordinates in high-cohesiveness groups were more satisfied than subordinates in low-cohesiveness groups; and (3) leader initiating structure and consideration were more positively related to subordinate satisfaction in high-cohesiveness groups than in low-cohesiveness groups. The results demonstrate the necessity of including group process variables in leadership theory and research. Implications of the findings forgroup effectiveness are also discussed.
190 citations
TL;DR: Theoretical definitions suggest that psychological identification and exchange evaluations affect the levels of organizational commitment that managers experience as discussed by the authors, and a new, more applied approach was proposed in this paper.
Abstract: Theoretical definitions suggest that psychological identification and exchange evaluations affect the levels of organizational commitment that managers experience. A new, more applied approach was ...
158 citations
TL;DR: The results indicated that Delphi groups reached stability in their decision making after the fourth iteration, thereby providing empirical support for the length of the classic Delphi.
Abstract: The widespread use of the Delphi technique of decision making has led to many variations in format implementation by practioners and researchers. The classic Delphi typically includes four rounds o...
103 citations
TL;DR: This paper found that team building has not been clearly defined and team building re-alignments are not clearly defined, and that the effects of team building on task performance are not clear.
Abstract: Previous research is inconclusive regarding the effects of team building on task performance. Two reasons for these findings are that team building has not been clearly defined and team building re...
94 citations
TL;DR: In this article, performance appraisal ratings of 125 first-level managers were analyzed to investigate the degree to which the criteria used to evaluate the overall job performance of black managers differs from those used for white managers.
Abstract: Performance appraisal ratings of 125 first-level managers were analyzed to investigate the degree to which the criteria used to evaluate the overall job performance of black managers differs from t...
82 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a multimethod approach was employed in order to triangulate on a paradoxical situation in which establishment of self-managed work groups can threaten the personal control and autonomy of individual organization members.
Abstract: This study focuses on the implications of introducing self-managed work groups in a context that has traditionally relied on individual self-management-an independent property and casualty insurance firm. A multimethod approach was employed in order to triangulate on a paradoxical situation in which establishment of self-managed work groups can threaten the personal control and autonomy of individual organization members.
67 citations
TL;DR: In this article, two explanations for women's limited presence in top corporate positions were tested and the results provided some support for the organization-centered perspective, but they did not support person-centered predications.
Abstract: Two explanations for women's limited presence in top corporate positions were tested. The person-centered explanation argues that women's work orientations are contrary to the demands of top corporate positions. The organization-centered perspective suggests that women's orientations vary with respect to hierarchical level: The higher the position, the more "top-management" focused the orientation. Women's orientations towards their careers, organi zations, jobs, and subordinates were examined with respect to organizational level. The results provided some support for the organization-centered perspective. Person-centered predications were not supported. The implications of the findings are discussed.
51 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the learning of 43 managers and analyzed the effect of context, job, and person variables on their learning process, identifying four key factors as contributors to managerial learning: demands of managing staff, demands of change, influence, and personal style.
Abstract: Although there has been considerable work investigating the dy namics of management training, no attention has been paid to the learning that managers do as a day-to-day task. This article examines the learning of 43 managers and analyzes the effect of context, job, and person variables. Four key factors are identified as contributors to managerial learning: demands of managing staff, demands of change, influence, and personal style. Analysis of the dynamic of thesefactors leads to a model of the managerial learning process.
44 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, it was found that the effectiveness of mentoring appears to be determined by functions performed, not sex or identification, and that few females occupy executive positions and women cannot identify with males.
Abstract: It is widely accepted that young women have few opportunities to receive effective mentoring, because: (1) few females occupy executive positions; and (2) women cannot identify with males. Results presented here do not support these assumptions. Effectiveness appears to be determined by functions performed, not sex or identification.
40 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, psychological and three situational variables are studied in terms of their relationship to informal influence over one's super visor and work unit peers, stepwise and stepwise.
Abstract: Two psychological and three situational variables are studied in terms of their relationship to informal influence over one's super visor and work unit peers. Simple bivariate statistics, stepwise ...
TL;DR: This paper examined the organizational communication style of individuals with different conflict-style preferences and the relation-ship of conflict style preferences to organizational position, employment expectations, and communication satisfaction, and found that individuals with preferences for conflict avoidance and compromising exhibited identifiable organizational communi-cation styles.
Abstract: This study examines the organizational communication style of individuals with different conflict-style preferences and the relation-ship of conflict-style preferences to organizational position, employment expectations, and communication satisfaction. The results indicated that individuals with preferences for conflict avoidance and compromising exhibited identifiable organizational communi-cation styles. Furthermore, managers were more likely to use a competitive conflict style than nonmanagers, while those who expected to stay in their present position were more likely to use a compromising style.
TL;DR: The effects of team development on organizational functioning were assessed in a field quasi-experiment designed to replicate Eden's (1985) field experiment as mentioned in this paper, where the command teams of seven combat companies underwent a three-day team development workshop and were compared to the control companies before and after the workshop.
Abstract: The effects of team development (TD) on organizational functioning were assessed in a field quasi-experiment designed to replicate Eden's (1985) field experiment. The command teams of seven combat companies underwent a three-day TD workshop and were compared to the command teams of nine control companies before and after the TD workshops. Pretest mean similarity established that the experi mental and control companies were equivalent. Repeated measures analysis of variance showed that the experimental companies significantly improved in teamwork, conflict handling, and informa tion about plans. Inconsistent findings in different studies com paring the effectiveness of TD are discussed in terms of team type and the rigor-confirmation relationship.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used four plants of a large manufacturing organization to assess what impact implementing a Quality Circle program has on employee task and affective outcome response perceptions, and found that there were no significant changes in employee perceptions following QC implementation.
Abstract: This study utilized four plants of a large manufacturing organization to assess what impact implementing a Quality Circle program has on employee task and affective outcome response perceptions. The literature (nonempirical) supports the theory that employees' attitudes would improve following QC implementation. The Job Diagnostic Survey was used to obtain before/after measures on two plants that received Quality Circle intervention. In addition, two plants that did not receive QCs were used as comparison groups. The results indicated that there were no significant changes in employee perceptions following QC implementation. However, a trend analysis found a marginal decline in the variables, in that eight of twelve declined after QC implementation.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors developed and tested the hypothesis that random assign ment to OD interventions has a negative impact on attitudes, and three published empirical studies using random assignment in work organizations were reviewed; the results were consistent with the hypothesis.
Abstract: This article develops and tests the hypothesis that random assign ment to OD interventions has a negative impact on attitudes. Three published empirical studies using random assignment in work organizations are reviewed; the results were consistent with the hypothesis. The issues of negative attitudinal effects of random assignment are discussed.
TL;DR: The moderating effects of attitudes about the work group and task structure on the relationships between leader behavior dimensions and job satisfaction facets were explored in this paper, and the results indicated that this variable was an important added moderator of leader behaviour dimensions.
Abstract: The moderating effects of attitudes about the work group and task structure on the relationships between leader behavior dimensions and job satisfaction facets were explored. The results indicated that this variable was an important added moderator of leader behavior dimensions. The significant main effects and interaction effects found reaffirmed the complexity of the leadership role for practicing managers.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the expectations and perceptions of both clients and consultants toward the consulting relationship and highlighted potential problems in the relationship, and suggested areas for further necessary research.
Abstract: This study examines the expectations and perceptions of both clients and consultants toward the consulting relationship. Results from 52 client firms are compared with those obtained with consultants in an earlier study. Factor analysis of preferences for a number of values is used to describe three significant dimensions in the consulting relationship. While clients and consultants agree on one of the three value dimensions, they significantly disagree on a second and are marginally dissimilar on the third. The results highlight potential problems in the consulting relationship and suggest areas for further necessary research.
TL;DR: This paper found that the quality of leader-supplied information had a greater impact upon the dependent measures in the study than the quantity of that information, and that dogmatism was a significant factor in the satisfaction respondents had with the group decision.
Abstract: Perception of group interaction were measured varying four levels of leader-supplied information and respondents' levels of dogematism. Qualitative and quantitative dimensions of leader-supplied information were varied in the study. Dogmatism was found to be a significant factor in the satisfaction respondents had with the group decision. The quality of leader-supplied information was found to have a greater impact upon the dependent measures in the study than the quantity of that information. Implications for leaders of small groups and future small group research are discussed.
TL;DR: This paper examined the selection utility implications of employing personality and ability predictors versus an employment interview in the selection of candidates for a flight attendant job in a flight- attendant training program, and found that the selection-utility implications of employability implications of using these predictors vs. an interview with an interview were similar.
Abstract: The present study examined the selection-utility implications of employing personality and ability predictors versus an employment interview in the selection of candidates for a flight attendant tr...
TL;DR: This article found that men report placing more importance on the desire for challenge than women, while women report that they more frequently give top priority to their job and engage in research or scholarly activity more often than women.
Abstract: A dramatic change in U. S. business in the last decade has been the advancement of women into the upper echelons of the corporate hierarchy. Although sex differences in \"tactics\" or \"strategies\" used for career advancement in business organizations have been investi gated, this work has not been extended to academic organizations. The 586 full-time teaching faculty at a California State University were surveyed regarding importance assigned to characteristics and behaviors associated with career advancement. Sex differences were found on 1 of the 12 faculty characteristics. Men report placing more importance on the desire for challenge than women. Sex differences were found on 3 of the 12 faculty behaviors. Men report that they more frequently give top priority to their job and engage in research or scholarly activity more often than women. Women report that they more frequently \"dress professionally. \" Post hoc sex by tenure comparisons found that tenured men report they engage more frequently in research or scholarly activity than do tenured women. None of the remaining five post hoc comparisons showed significant differences.
TL;DR: The authors compared individuals holding defined leadership posi tions with nonleaders on a number of personality dimensions and found significant differences between the two groups regarding specific traits and the overarching concept of personality congruence.
Abstract: In recent years there has been an emphasis in the leadership literature on situational factors in leadership at the expense of traits research. New evidence, however, suggests that the abandon ment of the research for leadership traits may have been premature. This study compares individuals holding defined leadership posi tions with nonleaders on a number of personality dimensions. The results indicate significant differences between the two groups regarding specific traits and the overarching concept of personality congruence. Conclusions are drawn concerning the implications of these findings for those concerned with leadership development.
TL;DR: The nature and consequences of conflicts between roles and the persons who occupy them are explored in this article, where two case studies focus on systems in which such conflicts were salient: a program for the education of gifted children and a private psychiatric hospital.
Abstract: The nature and consequences of conflicts between roles and the persons who occupy them are explored. Two case studies focus on systems in which such conflicts were salient: a program for the education of gifted children and a private psychiatric hospital. The public, private, and unconscious dimensions of various roles within each system are examined, as are the resultant role relations in each setting. The importance of the interface between and among the different dimensions of roles within organizations is emphasized. It has long been recognized that the ability to perform the explicit requirements of a task is only part of what is involved in a person working effectively within a system or organization. The psychoanalytic contributions of Freud (1959), Klein (1975), and others have illuminated the important role that unconscious elements play in the individual’s participation in work groups. Bion (1961) explicated the basic assumption life which so often undermines a group’s efforts to work productively. Menzies (1960) demonstrated the inherent arousal of powerful anxieties when an individual engages with a task.
TL;DR: In this paper, the trichotomy of role levels is used for multilevel analysis and, in particular, the inclusion of attempts at interpreting unconscious motives along with more traditional public/private (formal organisation/informal organization) analyses.
Abstract: This is a suggestive article with modest but wellachieved intentions. The &dquo;expos6&dquo; tone of the writing has its drawbacks, but the authors do leave us with some interesting conceptual and practitioner issues to ponder. To begin with, the trichotomy of role levels is useful for the very reason that it invites multilevel analysis and, in particular, the inclusion of attempts at interpreting unconscious motives along with more traditional public/private (formal organization/informal organization) analyses. Although interpretation at the unconscious level is by definition not easy to support empirically, it is likely to reveal important things about the analyst’s theoretical framework. It thereby provides the reader with a more robust view of the writer’s implicit theories and domain assumptions and encourages a self-reflexive posture toward theorizing that I firmly support (Gouldner, 1970). For example, I am not a psychoanalytically oriented clinician by training, but I found the inter-