Showing papers in "Organizational psychology review in 2011"
TL;DR: In this article, a causal model linking organizational structure (hierarchy), processes (motivation, leadership, coordination, and cooperation) and outcomes (performance) is proposed. And three variables that moderate the need for and acceptance of hierarchy are discussed: the level of task interdependence, the legitimacy of hierarchical differentiation, and the alignment of different bases of hierarchy.
Abstract: We propose that hierarchy is such a prevalent form of social organization because it is functionally adaptive and enhances a group’s chances of survival and success. We identify five ways in which hierarchy facilitates organizational success. Hierarchy (a) creates a psychologically rewarding environment; (b) motivates performance through hierarchy-related incentives; (c) capitalizes on the complementary psychological effects of having versus lacking power; (d) supports division of labor, and, as a result, coordination; and (e) reduces conflict and enhances voluntary cooperation. Overall, we specify a causal model linking organizational structure (hierarchy), processes (motivation, leadership, coordination, and cooperation) and outcomes (performance). We also discuss three variables that moderate the need for and acceptance of hierarchy—(a) the level of task interdependence; (b) the legitimacy of hierarchical differentiation; and (c) the alignment of different bases of hierarchy—and link them to the mediat...
251 citations
TL;DR: The authors argues that a key element of the employee experience is the formation of perceptions about how both the self and others are treated by organizational stakeholders, as well as the level of dignity and respect bestowed by the organization to external groups.
Abstract: This paper reviews recent research within the area of organizational justice. It argues that a key element of the employee experience is the formation of perceptions about how both the self and others are treated by organizational stakeholders, as well as the level of dignity and respect bestowed by the organization to external groups. Employees, therefore, look in, around, and out, in order to comprehend their working experiences, and depend on these judgments to navigate the organizational milieu. A full understanding of justice phenomena requires consideration of individual differences; contextual influences; affective, cognitive, and social processes; as well as a person-centric orientation that allows for both time and memory to influence the social construction of worker phenomena.
250 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors review the literature on turnover rates and dimensions of organizational performance and conclude that substantial evidence indicates that turnover rates have negative implications for safety, productivity, and monetary, and that the content of turnover rates plays a role in the magnitude and form of the relationship between turnover rate and organizational performance.
Abstract: The author of this article reviews the burgeoning literature on turnover rates and dimensions of organizational performance, and concludes that substantial evidence indicates that turnover rates have negative implications for several dimensions of organizational performance (e.g., safety, productivity, and monetary), that the content of turnover rates plays a role in the magnitude and form of the relationship between turnover rates and organizational performance, and that turnover rates affect distal measures (e.g., profitability, financial performance) through decreased productivity and losses in human and social capital. A roadmap is provided for future theory-building and empirical work in this area.
158 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a new dimension of emotional intelligence that is particularly relevant in organizational settings: the ability to influence others via emotion displays, which is called emotional intelligence.
Abstract: We propose a new dimension of emotional intelligence (EI) that is particularly relevant in organizational settings: the ability to influence others via emotion displays. In this article, we first d...
101 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the relation of individual perceptual, conscious, and self-regulatory processes to the generation of requisite complexity in formal and informal leaders is examined and the implications of these issues for understanding leader adaptation and development are also discussed.
Abstract: This paper examines the relation of individual perceptual, conscious, and self-regulatory processes to the generation of requisite complexity in formal and informal leaders. Requisite complexity is a complex adaptive systems concept that pertains to the ability of a system to adjust to the requirements of a changing environment by achieving equivalent levels of complexity. We maintain that requisite complexity has both static and dynamic aspects that involve four domains (general, social, self, and affective complexity), with each being more or less important for leaders depending upon the task requirements they face. Dynamic complexity draws on these static components and also creates new aspects of complexity through the interaction of mental processes. The implications of these issues for understanding leader adaptation and development are also discussed.
95 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors suggest that candidates' ability to identify the criteria used to evaluate their performance during a selection procedure contributes to the criterion-related validity of these procedures, and draw on both theory and empirical research to outline the potential this ability has to account for selection results and job performance outcomes.
Abstract: Personnel selection procedures such as assessment centers, structured interviews, and personality inventories are useful predictors of candidates' job performance. In addition to existing explanations for their criterion-related validity, we suggest that candidates' ability to identify the criteria used to evaluate their performance during a selection procedure contributes to the criterion-related validity of these procedures. Conceptually, the ability to identify criteria can be framed in the broader literature on peoples' ability to read situational cues. We draw on both theory and empirical research to outline the potential this ability has to account for selection results and job performance outcomes. Finally, implications for future research are presented.
81 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors defined team viability as a team's capacity for the sustainability and growth required for success in future performance episodes, and discussed how team viability differs from and relates to constructs such as team satisfaction, team performance, and team cohesion.
Abstract: Despite the potential contribution of team viability to understanding the effectiveness of organizational teams, construct confusion and inconsistencies between researchers' conceptualizations and operationalizations limit the usefulness of team viability. We sought to clarify team viability as a construct and (re)define it in terms that provide a unique and meaningful contribution to understanding the effectiveness of long-term and ongoing organizational teams. Team viability is defined as a team’s capacity for the sustainability and growth required for success in future performance episodes. We discuss how team viability differs from and relates to constructs such as team satisfaction, team performance, and team cohesion, and outline boundary conditions within which team viability may be relevant and important.
81 citations
TL;DR: Despite growth in the presence of workplace diversity and realization that diversity management is important, a great deal remains unknown about the causes and consequences of employees' level of s... as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Despite growth in the presence of workplace diversity and realization that diversity management is important, a great deal remains unknown about the causes and consequences of employees' level of s...
67 citations
TL;DR: While research on affect in organizations has flourished, affect has tended to be approached in a piecemeal or asymmetrical fashion as mentioned in this paper, and researchers have focused on potential benefits of affect.
Abstract: While research on affect in organizations has flourished, affect has tended to be approached in a piecemeal or asymmetrical fashion. Traditionally, researchers have focused on potential benefits of...
60 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated whether employees often expand their roles to take on broader responsibilities in response to direct requests from others, but surprisingly little research has investigated whether this is the case.
Abstract: Evidence establishes that employees often expand their roles to take on broader responsibilities in response to direct requests from others. However, surprisingly little research has investigated t...
52 citations
TL;DR: It is proposed that social-regulation processes involving active goals, identity, and affect, as well as formal and emergent leadership processes, such as shared leadership, provide the key social structures within which dynamic complexity emerges.
Abstract: We maintain that the requisite complexity of collectives is an important component of collective learning and adaptive performance. Collective requisite complexity is comprised of two components: static complexity, which consists of group or team heterogeneity in general cognitive, social, self, and affective domains; and dynamic complexity, which is a social interactive process by which one person’s contributions transform those of another. We propose that social-regulation processes involving active goals, identity, and affect, as well as formal and emergent leadership processes, such as shared leadership, provide the key social structures within which dynamic complexity emerges. We also propose that successful adaptation to task or organizational demands, as well as social feedback, transform these structural aspects through “double-loop learning” and provide a basis for individual and collective learning.
TL;DR: In the first issue of Organizational Psychology Review, Daan van Knippenberg stated that he would be elaborating on the issue of what makes a good meta-analysis as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In the first issue of Organizational Psychology Review, Daan van Knippenberg stated that I would be elaborating on the issue of what makes a good meta-analysis (van Knippenberg, 2011). Given this call to action (or one could say burden of responsibility), I have taken it upon myself to pull together some thoughts on what I believe authors should be striving for in producing meta-analyses, as well as trying to provide a roadmap for authors who are considering submitting a meta-analysis to OPR. What I will not be doing is providing a treatise on the mechanics of conducting a metaanalysis, as there are a multitude of books, articles, and other training materials that do a better job than I could ever hope to do.
TL;DR: In organizational psychology, the field of organizational psychology seems undertheorized as discussed by the authors, and there is a lack of dedicated outlets for conceptual work in organizational psychology that offers broader ranging theoretical perspectives that speak more comprehensively to the issues under consideration.
Abstract: Organizational psychology is an applied science. It is driven by a desire to address issues that are important to people at work. Perhaps as a consequence of this applied focus that sometimes appears to prioritize data over theory and applicability over fundamental insight, the field of organizational psychology seems undertheorized. Of course, good scientific research in organizational psychology is guided by well-developed conceptual analyses, but by the realities of research in academia these analyses are limited to what can actually be tested in the particular study at hand. As a result, there is much ‘‘micro-theory’’ limited to the set of relationships that can be covered empirically in one study, but far less conceptual work that is integrative and overarching—work that offers broader ranging theoretical perspectives that speak more comprehensively to the issues under consideration. Probably exacerbating this problem is that academic journals often prioritize novelty in empirical contributions to such an extent that programmatic development of a theoretical analysis across studies increasingly seems to be penalized by the observation that the contribution is ‘‘too incremental’’ in building on prior work to warrant publication (belying the very fact that scientific progress is largely incremental and providing an incentive to downplay conceptual connections with prior work). Yet, as Kurt Lewin, one of the founders of organizational psychology as a scientific discipline, famously noted, the practical significance and value of good theory is enormous. Theory explains and thus allows practice to move beyond an ill-understood ‘‘bag of tricks’’ to better informed actions, and theory guides the further development of knowledge to develop more sophisticated practice. Perhaps part of the problem here is that many academic outlets in the field seem less than welcoming to conceptual work. Despite the substantive number of journals for empirical research, there is a striking lack of dedicated outlets for conceptual work in organizational psychology. While a number of empirical journals in principle are open to conceptual
TL;DR: In this paper, a framework is presented for analyzing the role of humor in managerial communications, including the presenter, recipient, message, and medium and elaborates cognitive and emotional reactions to humor by recipients.
Abstract: Should managers deliberately employ humor to persuade and motivate staff? A framework is presented for analyzing the role of humor in managerial communications. The framework includes the presenter, recipient, message, and medium and elaborates cognitive and emotional reactions to humor by recipients. The framework is applied to analyses of the likely impacts of humor in problem solving and creativity. Facilitators and constraints for the effects of humor in managerial communications are discussed.
TL;DR: This paper explored the boundary conditions and mechanisms for when and why retaliation occurs, with perceived differences in power and resource dependence between the whistleblower and the retaliator being offered as the primary explanations, and used the theoretical lens of system justification theory to explore how perceived threats to an individual's ego, group, and/or system heighten cognitive and affective responses that drive an individual to act out.
Abstract: Despite the public’s growing dissatisfaction with unethical behavior in modern organizations, research suggests that individuals who blow the whistle in an attempt to stop illicit activity often suffer retaliation at the hands of those who stand to benefit from the wrongdoing. To date, relatively little work has been undertaken exploring the boundary conditions and mechanisms for when and why retaliation occurs, with perceived differences in power and resource dependence between the whistleblower and retaliator being offered as the primary explanations. In this article, we attempt to build upon this theoretical foundation by introducing cognitive (i.e., moral disengagement) and affective (i.e., moral emotions) mechanisms as underlying drivers of the whistleblowing–retaliation relationship. Additionally, we use the theoretical lens of system justification theory to explore how perceived threats to an individual’s ego, group, and/or system heighten cognitive and affective responses that drive an individual ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the location of individual actors in the context of the larger social network within the organization has important but to date overlooked implications for employee role innovation, and the authors theorize that the locations of actors in individual actors within an organization have important implications for role innovation.
Abstract: We theorize that the location of individual actors in the context of the larger social network within the organization has important but to date overlooked implications for employee role innovation...
TL;DR: In this paper, a model of task-related effort in multigroup settings is developed, relating findings on intergroup competition to current research on motivation and information processing in groups, and the importance of collective self-construal within the groups is discussed.
Abstract: Group work in organizations usually involves the existence of more than one group, which can lead to intergroup competition either implicitly or based on explicit competitive incentives. In this paper, a model of task-related effort in multigroup settings is developed, relating findings on intergroup competition to current research on motivation and information processing in groups. Increased effort during intergroup competition is explained based on (a) the degree of deliberate and systematic information retrieval and processing, and (b) the degree of collective self-construal within the groups. Implications for using and dealing with intergroup competition in organizations are discussed.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors address various antecedents of managerial action or inaction in response to an attempted transfer by a current human resource manager. But they do not address the role of human resources in the attempted transfer.
Abstract: Internal job transfers are an understudied human resource practice. This paper addresses various antecedents of managerial action or inaction in response to an attempted transfer by a current emplo...