Showing papers in "Human Relations in 1985"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors synthesize research findings from organization theory, policy analysis, and organization development, and propose conditions that are essential to achieving collaboration during each of three successive phases of the process.
Abstract: There is a growing need to promote collaborative problem solving across various sectors of society, e.g., among business, government, labor, and communities. Organizing such collaborative efforts requires focusing on the interorganizational domain or set of interdependencies which link various stakeholders rather than on the actions of any single organization. Moreover, effective collaboration at the domain level is predicated on several preconditions. This paper synthesizes research findings from organization theory, policy analysis, and organization development, and proposes conditions that are essential to achieving collaboration during each of three successive phases of the process. Designing optimum conditions for collaboration depends on the presence and strength of these factors at appropriate points during the collaborative process.
1,039 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an extended case study of a recent merger between two mutual savings banks is studied from the perspective of organizational culture, and data on organizational culture and organizational climate are analyzed from pre- and post-merger interviews, observations, archival information, and survey questionnaires.
Abstract: An extended case study of a recent merger between two mutual savings banks is studied from the perspective of organizational culture. Data on organizational culture and organizational climate are analyzed from pre- and post-merger interviews, observations, archival information, and survey questionnaires. Results suggest that even within the same industry, there are major difficulties in trying to merge two different though viable organizational cultures.
626 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a new instrument capable of tapping three distinct types of work autonomy, i.e., method a utonoly, scheduling autonomy, and criteria autonomy, is presented.
Abstract: The importance of autonomy has been asserted by numerous writers in a variety of research domains, e.g., leadership, organizational climate, professionalism, and job design. In this paper, it is argued that research on job autonomy has been hindered by the way it has been conceptualized and operationalized by recent researchers. More specifically, it is suggested that the most commonly used measures of job autonomy operationally confound job autonomy with a conceptually distinct job characteristic (job interdependence/independence). Furthermore, it is suggested that for both theory development and improved organizational interventions it is important to distinguish separate areas (facets) of autonomy. This paper presents the development of a new instrument capable of tapping three distinct types, i.e., “Method A utonoly,” “Scheduling Autonomy,” and “Criteria Autonomy,” of work autonomy. Data relevant to the reliability and the validity of the instrument were gathered in two organizations. The results of s...
497 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the relationship between narcissism and leadership, using concepts taken from psychoanalytic object relations theory, three narcissistic configurations found among leaders are presented: reactive, self-deceptive, and constructive.
Abstract: Having been largely unknown as a clinical entity, the narcissistic personality has recently come into the limelight. It is argued that one critical component in the orientation of leaders is the quality and intensity of their narcissistic development. In this paper, the relationship between narcissism and leadership is explored. Using concepts taken from psychoanalytic object relations theory, three narcissistic configurations found among leaders are presented: reactive, self-deceptive, and constructive. Their etiology, symptomatology, and defensive structure is discussed. The influence of each configuration on interpersonal relations and decision-making is examined in a managerial context.
333 citations
TL;DR: This article examined the relationship between childhood cruelty toward animals and aggressive behavior among criminals and noncriminals in adulthood and found that childhood cruelty towards animals occurred to a significantly greater degree among aggressive criminals than among non-aggressive criminals or non-criminals.
Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between childhood cruelty toward animals and aggressive behavior among criminals and noncriminals in adulthood.Data were derived from personal interviews with 152 criminals and noncriminals in Kansas and Connecticut. A standardized, closed, and open-ended interview, requiring approximately 1-2 hours to complete, was administered to all subjects. Aggressiveness was defined by behavioral criteria rather than by reason for incarceration.Childhood cruelty toward animals occurred to a significantly greater degree among aggressive criminals than among nonaggressive criminals or noncriminals. Additionally, the occurrence of more than 40 cases of extreme animal crielty facilitated the development of a preliminary classification of nine distinct motivations for animal cruelty. Finally, family violence, particularly paternal abuse and alcoholism, were significantly more common among aggressive criminals with a history of childhood cruelty toward animals.
256 citations
TL;DR: The relationship of age to job satisfaction was investigated by as discussed by the authors, who found that older employees were more satisfied with the extrinsic characteristics than were the two younger groups of employees.
Abstract: The relationship of age to job satisfaction was investigated. Subjects were 1707 public employees in the United States who responded to questionnaires. The results showed that job satisfaction increased with age. Younger employees were less satisfied overall with their jobs, but especially with the intrinsic characteristics of the work. Older employees were more satisfied with the extrinsic characteristics than were the two younger groups of employees. When the effects of salary, job tenure, and education were removed independently as well as simultaneously, the same differences were found. However, when the effect of job characteristics was added to the combination and partialled out, the intrinsic characteristics factor was no longer significant.
240 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, four types of relationships were proposed between job stress and performance: curvilinear/U-shaped, negative linear, positive linear, and no relationship between the two.
Abstract: Four types of relationships were proposed between job stress and performance: curvilinear/U-shaped, negative linear, positive linear, and no relationship between the two. Data were collected from middle managers (N = 227) and blue-collar workers (N = 283) employed in a large Canadian organization. Bivariate multiple regression and hierarchical multiple regression analyses generally supported the prevalence of a negative linear relationship between job stress and supervisory ratings of performance. Employees' organizational commitment significantly moderated over 50% of the relationships between job stress and measures of job performance in both managerial and blue-collar samples. Implications of the findings are discussed for future research in the area of job stress.
185 citations
TL;DR: The journals which contribute most to management research are identified and ranked based upon the number of citations they received during a recent four-year period in the two top management journals, Administrative Science Quarterly and The Academy of Management Journal.
Abstract: The journals which contribute most to management research are identified and ranked based upon the number of citations they received during a recent four-year period in the two top management journals, Administrative Science Quarterly and The Academy of Management Journal. Rankings are provided based upon total citations, citations per article published annually, and citations per 10,000 words published annually. A final ranking of just the top ten management journals is based upon the last criterion.
177 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an in-depth analysis of transforming leadership is presented, focusing on six elements: crisis, the school district's mission and vision, an ad hoc structure, a participative process, and a skillful change agent in the role of superintendent.
Abstract: This paper is an in-depth analysis of transforming leadership - its definition and its basic features. In a study of a suburban school district, six elements were found to be important in the transformative process: a crisis, the school district's mission and vision, an ad hoc structure, a participative process, and a skillful change agent in the role of superintendent.
172 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a model of the relationship between feedback obstruction and employee turnover intent is proposed and tested, and the authors demonstrate that the obstruction of several feedback sources is significantly correlated with anxiety, (dis)satisfaction, and turnover intentions.
Abstract: A model of the relationship between feedback obstruction and employee turnover intent is proposed and tested. Eighty-nine pharmaceutical sales representatives completed questionnaires measuring the value of feedback, feedback obstruction across five sources of information, anxiety, (dis)satisfaction, and turnover intent. Results demonstrate that the obstruction of several feedback sources is significantly correlated with anxiety, (dis)satisfaction, and turnover intentions. A regression analysis reveals that self- and supervisory feedback obstruction bear the strongest relationships to turnover intent. Interestingly, the self-feedback obstruction relationship is not in the predicted direction.
149 citations
TL;DR: The management of organizational conflict involves the diagnosis of and intervention in conflict at intrapersonal, interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup levels as discussed by the authors, and a diagnosis should indicate whether there is need for intervention and the type of intervention needed.
Abstract: The management of organizational conflict involves the diagnosis of and intervention in conflict at intrapersonal, interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup levels. A diagnosis should indicate whether there is need for intervention and the type of intervention needed. In general, an intervention is designed to attain and maintain a moderate amount of conflict a various levels and to enable the organizational members to learn the styles of handling interpersonal conflict so that the individual, group, and overall organizational effectiveness are enhanced.
TL;DR: The Fair Process Effect as discussed by the authors suggests that people given the opportunity to participate in a decision are more likely to see that decision as just than those given no such opportunity, and that limited participation leads people to see the decision as less just than when no participation is allowed.
Abstract: Recent social psychological work on procedural justice suggests that people given the opportunity to participate in a decision are more likely to see that decision as just than those given no such opportunity. The operation of this “fair process effect” in legal settings contributes to the legitimacy of those settings and to the stability of their structure over time. A similar, limited opportunity for participation by experimental subjects playing the role of employee in situations designed to model hierarchical, profit-oriented business enterprises produces a similar effect in some cases, but a 'frustration” effect in others. In this latter case, limited participation leads people to see the decision as less just than when no participation is allowed. Previous interpretations of these data neglect the possibility that those in the role of employees recognize a basic conflict of interest with employers in such enterprises and see limited participation as a strategic device to induce loyalty and commitmen...
TL;DR: In this paper, an explanatory theory of organization transformation is proposed, which postulates that "inherent stabilities" make more probable a system's successful transition through highly unstable conditions, and these same stabilities offer a point of convergence of current theories of organizational learning, of self-organizing systems, and of high performance teams.
Abstract: Modern organizations must transform amidst the internal and external complexity and turbulence they face. Transformation processes are not understandable through the equilibrium models we most often use to describe system dynamics. More applicable system models, recently emerging within the physical sciences, incorporate disorder, uncertainty, and complexity and provide insight into the process of transformation, its characteristics and dynamics. One such model put forth by the Belgian physicist, Ilya Prigogine, is offered here as an explanatory theory of organization transformation. The model postulates that “inherent stabilities” make more probable a system's successful transition through highly unstable conditions. These same stabilities offer a point of convergence of current theories of organizational learning, of self-organizing systems, and of high performance teams. Summary propositions and some directions for future research are discussed.
TL;DR: This paper examined the coping behavior of a sample of young professional engineers in response to stress "incidents" experienced at work, and found that coping behavior was related to the subjective appraisal of the stress encountered, and to characteristics of both the individual experiencing the stress and the work environment in which it occurred.
Abstract: This study examined the coping behavior of a sample of young professional engineers in response to stress “incidents” experienced at work. Subjects were specifically asked to limit their recall to an incident occurring within the preceding 14 days. A primary analysis was made of the coping behavior exhibited, from which five classes of coping behavior were derived. Coping behavior was then examined in relation to the subjective appraisal of the stress encountered, and to characteristics of both the individual experiencing the stress and of the work environment in which it occurred. Analysis indicated that all three predictor groups (stress appraisal, individual, and envrionmental characteristics) were important in relation to the coping behaivor reported. Evidence also emerged suggesting that certain types of coping response are behavior correlates of particular individual characteristics, whereas others were more likely to be related to differences in the environmental context and to the way in which the...
TL;DR: The need configurations underlying the motivations of public school teachers are examined here with regard to teacher perceptions of pay equity relative to other factors such as work autonomy, intrinsic work elements, and satisfaction of so-called higher-order needs.
Abstract: The need configurations underlying the motivations of public school teachers are examined here with regard to teacher perceptions of pay equity relative to other factors such as work autonomy, intrinsic work elements, and satisfaction of so-called higher-order needs. A Q sort forced distributions research instrument containing 37 attitudinal statements was administered to a group of 167 teachers of a medium-sized city in Oklahoma. The survey netted 135 usable questionnaires (76%). The data were R factor analyzed producing six clear factors, which dealt with: social variables and collegial support; positive supervisor relations; gratification from intrinsic work elements and dissatisfaction with extrinsic elements such as pay and benefits; interesting work and appropriate responsibility levels; opportunities for learning and development combined with negative attitudes about day-to-day duties; and job security, clear expectations, and excessive workloads. The study concluded that teacher motivation is base...
TL;DR: This paper examined the validity of four alternative information processing models which specify how interaction behavior related to social perceptions in a small group problem-solving experiment and found that leadership and social power perceptions were based on relative, as opposed to absolute, frequency of behaviors and that this relationship was eliminated when behavior conflicted with experimenter provided behavioral norms.
Abstract: This study examined the validity of four alternative information processing models which specify how interaction behavior related to social perceptions in a small group problem-solving experiment. Results indicated that leadership and social power perceptions were based on relative, as opposed to absolute, frequency of behaviors and that this relationship was eliminated when behavior conflicted with experimenter provided behavioral norms. Limited support was found for the expectations that leadership perceptions depended on the prototypicality of behavior and on how well behaviors matched the interdependence requirements of experimental tasks. Results further suggested that raters' causal ascriptions to ratees may have been derived from leadership perceptions rather than being crucial in forming leadership perceptions, which supports a categorization model of leadership.
TL;DR: The authors argued that the popular success of crowd psychology is in part due to its correspondence with the perspective of outgroup members, supported by a comparative analysis of traditional crowd psychology and lay accounts of crowd events drawn from street disturbances in St. Pauls, Bristol in 1980.
Abstract: The central argument of this paper is that the popular success of crowd psychology is in part due to its correspondence with the perspective of outgroup members. This is supported by a comparative analysis of traditional crowd psychology and lay accounts of crowd events drawn from street disturbances in St. Pauls, Bristol, in 1980. Five basic types of error are identified in crowd psychology past and present. These are: (1) the abstraction of crowd episodes from their intergroup conflicts, (2) the failure to deal with underlying dynamic processes, (3) exaggeration of the anonymity of crowd members, (4) failure to understand the motives of crowd members, and (5) an overwhelming emphasis on the negativity of crowd events. Analysis of accounts of the St. Pauls disturbance reveals the centrality of these forms of error in outgroup members' versions of events. In contrast, crowd members tended to draw upon very different accounts which stress the meaningfulness of crowd action, solidarity, and positive emotion...
TL;DR: The authors examined the relationship between attitudinal variables and grievance-filing behavior, and identified the factors most effectively discriminating between grievants and nongrievants, and found that age is the only demographic factor differentiating the criterion groups.
Abstract: Previous attempts at identifying factors differentiating individuals who file grievances from those who do not have focused on demographic and job-related variables. These efforts have yielded inconsistent results and have not explained much of the variance in grievance-filing behavior. This line of research is extended in this study by presenting a model of individual grievance-filing behavior that includes a number of variables measuring attitudes toward work and unions. Such factors have been found associated with other forms of union-related behavior such as the decision to unionize. The objectives were to replicate the earlier studies, examine the relationships between attitudinal variables and grievance-filing behavior, and identify the factors most effectively discriminating between grievants and nongrievants. The results indicate that age is the only demographic factor differentiating the criterion groups. However, the subsamples differed significantly with respect to several attitudinal variables.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the relationship between the extent of employees' social interaction and their perceptions of job characteristics, and found that the perceptions of employees who were more central to communication networks, boundary-spanning employees, and employees close to the organization's boundaries were more similar to those of the outside observer.
Abstract: This research investigates the relationship between the extent of employees' social interaction and their perceptions of job characteristics. Employees' perceptions were compared with the perceptions of task characteristics made by an outside observer, whose perceptions were not subject to the same social influence processes. The results indicated that the perceptions of employees who were more central to communication networks, boundary-spanning employees, and employees close to the organization's boundaries were more similar to the perceptions of the outside observer. These results were interpreted as support for the hypothesis that increased social interaction leads to a convergence of perceptions, such that the perceptions are more similar to observable reality. The hypotheses and results are discussed in terms of social information-processing models and previous laboratory findings.
TL;DR: In this paper, a comparison of a number of travel-related roles was conducted using a 100-person student sample, and the data were analyzed with fuzzy set theory and multidimensional scaling analysis.
Abstract: Academic and professional studies of tourists and tourism both need a sound emic or experiential definition of the tourist role. In this study, a comparison of a number of travel-related roles was conducted using a 100-person student sample, and the data were analyzed with fuzzy set theory and multidimensional scaling analysis. The findings indicated that there were clear and highly interpretible differences among 15 travel-related roles. It was also demonstrated that such an approach to defining the tourist role was useful for understanding previous perspectives in the social science literature on tourism.
TL;DR: The psychodynamics of sexual harassment maintain an unequal power structure between the sexes, forcing women into compliance with nurturant or sexual aspects of the traditional sex role as discussed by the authors, and resistance to group pressure gives a woman the role of deviant.
Abstract: Sexual harassment is defined and surveys used to establish its extent, consequences, and most prevalent characteristics of harassers and victims. The psychodynamics of sexual harassment maintains an unequal power structure between the sexes, forcing women into compliance with nurturant or sexual aspects of the traditional sex role. Resistance to group pressure gives a woman the role of deviant. Characteristic group responses to a deviant result in isolation or severe sexual harassment. Refusal to comply with sexual harassment elicits aggression and denigration of the woman. Group responses to a victim create a hostile environment with an increase in the likelihood of further sexual harassment and denigration. ft is possible for work groups to develop sexual equality and integration by changing the male task directive/female nurturant or courting repertoires to express equal power and affiliation between the sexes. Organizational policies to encourage integration are suggested.
TL;DR: This article argued that it is as unrealistic to attempt to separate technical and economic considerations from social and psychological ones, as it is to separate short-term effects from long-term outcomes.
Abstract: Micro-electronic-based technologies will have profound effects on the relationships between people, machines, work, and productivity. Present policies towards them, however, place an overwhelming emphasis on technological and economic considerations. An “innovation approach” to the diffusion of technology predominates, linked to a unitary concept of organization, an antagonistic view of participation and efficiency, and a short-term “cost substitution” approach to evaluation. One alternative is suggested by the emphasis in the organization theory literature that organizations are social rather than rational systems containing a plurality of interest groups. On this view, it is as unrealistic to attempt to segregate technical and economic considerations from social and psychological ones, as it is to separate short-term effects from long-term outcomes. Evaluation is seen as a central part of a complex and incremental planning process. Yet this approach is often presented as little more than a strategy to m...
TL;DR: It is argued that factory layouts have social functions over and above the purely technical ones and that such functions can be described with accuracy and suggested that the design olfactory space has strategic effects on the culture of workplaces.
Abstract: This paper argues that factory layouts have social functions over and above the purely technical ones and that such functions can be described with accuracy. It relates the fundamental design choices that are identified by the analysis to the spatial requirements of organizations. Thus, it suggests that the design olfactory space has strategic effects on the culture of workplaces. Spatial variables are based on the theory of space syntax developed at the Unit for Architectural Studies, University College London. Measures of interaction are based on network theory. The analysis rests on evidence from six case studies of factories located in England and in Greece.
TL;DR: In this article, a model that specifies affective responses to plant closings is proposed and measured from 60 displaced workers displaced by a plant closing, and path analysis was used to examine the model's linkages.
Abstract: A model is proposed that specifies affective responses to plant closings. Measures of all constructs in the model were obtained from 60 workers displaced by a plant closing. Path analysis was used to examine the model's linkages. The path model provided a reasonably good fit of the data, thus supporting the hypothesized model. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are discussed.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors extended the motivational formulation and measurement of job and work involvement constructs and tested its cross-cultural implications by reporting on two studies conducted in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and India.
Abstract: This paper extends the motivational formulation and measurement of job and work involvement constructs (Kanungo, 1982b) and tests its cross-cultural implications by reporting on two studies conducted in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and India. Results pertaining to the empirical properties (reliability and validity) of the new job and work involvement measures obtained in the FRG and Indian contexts generally support results reported by Kanungo in the Canadian context. The cross-national generalizability of predictions derived from the motivational formulation is supported. Usefulness of the motivational framework for future research on involvement in relation to certain desired outcomes is indicated.
TL;DR: This paper conducted extensive interviews with 60 men and women in their first marriages to examine propositions derived from attachment theory and found that respondents construe the patterning of their lives in terms which accord with attachment theory.
Abstract: Intensive interviews with 60 men and women in their first marriages provide data for an examination of propositions derived from attachment theory. The cases were drawn from the Melbourne subsample of an Australian national sample and were equally divided between men and women respondents and the first three stages of the family life cycle. A series of regression analyses, based on respondents' accounts of their parental families, supports the expectation that appropriate parental care contributes to healthy personality development in children and, in turn, to satisfactory marital relationships. These data suggest that respondents construe the patterning of their lives in terms which accord with attachment theory. Furthermore, strong marital relations are indicated as being therapeutic for a partner whose early experiences of care were less than optimal.
TL;DR: In this paper, the role played by supervision in work design and redesign has been examined and a model which relates job characteristics to supervisory practices has been presented in the context of leadership research.
Abstract: In this paper it is argued that contemporary theoretical approaches to work design and redesign neglect the role played by supervision, and that this has been an impediment to both research and practice. From an examination of the literature in the area, relevant aspects of supervisory behavior are identified and a model presented which relates job characteristics to supervisory practices. Finally, the model is discussed in the context of leadership research.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined relationships between multiple contextual factors and performance in 185 large industrial firms and found that the highest performers were mnedium-sized firms, those using unit and small batch as the predominant production system and those employing an external acquisitive growth grand strategy.
Abstract: Relationships between multiple contextual factors and performance in 185 large industrial firms were examined. Medium size, external acquisitive growth grand strategy, unit and small batch predominant production system, consumer nondurable goods industry, and high perceived environmental uncertainty were positive predictors of firm performance. Functional structure, geographic divisional structure, and large batch and mass predominant production systems were negative predictors. The highest performers were mnedium-sized firms, those using unit and small batch as the predominant production system and those employing an external acquisitive growth grand strategy.
TL;DR: In Part 1, a procedure for the detection of emerging paradigms based on the analysis of implicit and explicit criticisms was developed and applied to the “Systems” paradigm and a set of frames are proposed which may advance the systems movement.
Abstract: In Part 1, “Systemic-Netfields: The System's Paradigm Crisis, “ a procedure for the detection of emerging paradigms based on the analysis of implicit and explicit criticisms was developed and applied to the “Systems” paradigm. Four basic assumptions that underly most systems frames and limit their use in the research, design, planning, and management of social systems were identified. In Part 2, a set of frames are proposed which may advance the systems movement. They are enclosed under the name of systemic-netfields and provide a link between systems and networks, aggregates, and fields.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the impact of projective identification on consulting relationships and discuss the practical implications of attending to this process, and discuss three case examples illustrating the operation of this process.
Abstract: This paper explores the impact of projective identification on consulting relationships. The concept of projective identification, drawn from psychoanalytic literature, is used to elucidate the ways in which the dynamics within consulting teams comes to mirror important and unconscious aspects of the client system. Attention to this process thus provides opportunities for understanding important dynamics of the client system which are often inaccessible through more traditional modes of social science inquiry. It is often that these unrecognized, implicit forces can emerge in the course of an intervention and undermine attempts at collaborative social change. Three case examples illustrate the operation of this process, and finally a discussion of the practical implications of attending to it is offered.