Core self-evaluations

About: Core self-evaluations is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1483 publications have been published within this topic receiving 95787 citations.

Work Locus of Control and the Multidimensionality of Job Satisfaction

Abstract: INTRODUCTION At no point in history have there been more people in the workforce than there are today. These individuals are constantly faced with new expectations, goals and other pressures in our modern organizations. This social milieu and other circumstances that arise in an individual's daily transactions comprise an environment where individuals find job satisfaction as a focal point in their being. Job satisfaction has been defined as the extent to which individuals like their jobs or as a pleasurable, positive emotional state that can result from a individual's appraisal of their job or job experiences (Levy, 2003; Tanriverdi, 2008) Stated more simply, job satisfaction can be considered an individual's negative or positive feelings about their job. Research has indicated that job satisfaction can encompass as many as twenty different dimensions which include: recognition, compensation, supervision, job security, and advancement on the job, etc. (Weiss, England, & Losquist, 1967). Despite the various approaches to the study of job satisfaction, most researchers suggest the concept be viewed multidimensionally (Bell & Weaver, 1987). The study of job satisfaction is not a new focus for researchers; however, it is helpful to take a brief review of its origin into organizational studies. The phenomena of job satisfaction and motivation has been of interest to organizational researchers since the 1930s. Elton Mayo and the famous Hawthorne studies (Roethlisberger & Dickson, 1939), which focused mainly on the effects of supervision, incentives, and working conditions fueled the interest in large part. Mayo and his associates assumed that organizations that experienced success would generally have satisfied employees, concluding satisfaction was at least one predictor of organizational outcomes (Gortner, Mahler, & Nicholson, 1987). Over the past five decades, job satisfaction has been an extensively researched topic in the organizational studies literature (Brayfield & Crockett, 1955; Hackman & Oldham, 1975). The central question and the most crucial volleying in the ongoing debate continues to surround the relationship between job satisfaction and performance (Brayfield & Crockett, 1955; Petty, McGee, & Cavender, 1984; Iaffaldano & Muchinsky, 1985). Results of a meta-analysis conclude there is a strong relationship between the two variables (Petty et al., 1984). Despite these results, there continues to be mixed empirical support among researchers. Modern organizations are constantly focused on gaining and maintaining competitive advantages in the marketplace, thus understanding as many variables as possible that lead to improved individual and organizational performance and job satisfaction are of special interests. Subsequently, today's hypercompetitive environments, force researchers and practitioners alike to look for these definitive answers. One of the factors that has been found to be closely related to job satisfaction is locus of control (Spector, 1982; Spector & O'Connell, 1994; Chen & Silverstone, 2008). Locus of control has been defined as the belief that an individual has the necessary behavioral skills and the individual will receive their determined reinforcements (Lefcourt, 1982; Phares, 1978). Additionally, meta-analysis have supported that an individual's perceived control and ability to participate in work related outcome decisions were positively related to job satisfaction (Spector, 1986). However, while extant research has gleaned this and much else about the antecedents and consequences ofjob satisfaction in the workplace, it may have left some areas with opportunity for further consideration. Extending the previous arguments to work locus of control, with research indicating there is indeed a relationship between satisfaction and locus of control, the primary purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between work locus of control and various dimensions of job satisfaction to investigate the influence. …

Personality at work: an empirical investigation into higher order factors underpinning the socioanalytic theory of personality

Abstract: The study of personality and individual differences has been of interest to academic and practitioner psychologists for more than 100 years. Research into personality differences has provided a comprehensive source of understanding into how, and why, people are different, and what consequences these differences have (Chamorro- Premuzic, 2011; Furnham, 1997; Hogan, 2007). Socioanalytic Theory (ST) (Hogan, 1976: 1982) seeks to explain individual differences in a social setting and argues that personality comprises both reputation and identity. ST posits that three key drivers underpin social interaction and impact on an individual’s personal and professional life: (1) the need to get along with others (GAL); (2) the need to get ahead (GAH); and (3) the need to find meaning (FM), (Hogan, 1976). The choice of this theoretical framework was based on three main reasons. First, this is the only personality taxonomy developed explicitly for and within organizational settings. For example, the Five Factor Model is largely derived from student samples and its origins are clinical and social rather than organisational. Second, no other personality framework encapsulates a systematic approach to understanding identity, reputation, bright side, and dark side of individual differences. Third, among science-based personality frameworks and assessments used in real-world contexts, the Hogan model is the most widely used, particularly with managers and leaders. This thesis investigates whether three higher order factors of GAH, GAL and FM can be found within two psychometric measures based on ST: the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) and the Motives Values and Preferences Indicator (MVPI). It argues that while there have been many attempts to look at higher order factors of personality based on reputation, there have been no significant studies so far which consider the higher order factors of identity nor any which look at higher order factors of a combination of reputation and identity. This thesis aims to address this gap in current literature. To this end, six empirical studies are conducted. Studies 1, 2 and 3 investigate which scales of the HPI and the MVPI comprise GAH, GAL and FM and whether three higher order factors will be found within the two measures. Arising from this, the design and development of a new short measure based on ST theory is described. Studies 4, 5 and 6 detail validation studies of the new measure. Study 1 investigates which scales of the HPI and the MVPI comprise higher order factors of GAH, GAL and FM. Results show two higher order factors: GAH and GAL, but no higher order factor of FM. Study 2 confirms the scales of the two higher order factors of GAH and GAL against performance measures. Results confirm two higher order factors of GAH and GAL. Study 3 explains the development and design of a new short measure for GAH and GAL. Studies include Parallel, Exploratory, and Confirmatory analyses, and Structural Equation Modelling. Three validation studies of the new measure are conducted against the Big 5 factors, the Core Self Evaluation Scale, a measure of Engagement, Performance factors, the dark triad of personality, and the Hogan Development Survey (HDS). Study 4 validates the new measure of GAH and GAL against a measure of personality, engagement and performance outcomes. Regression analysis explores the incremental validity of the GAH and GAL constructs in the prediction of work performance. Results confirm two distinct higher order factors of GAH and GAL. GAH offers incremental validity over and above the Big Five factors in predicting both performance and engagement. GAL offers incremental validity over and above the Big Five Factors in predicting engagement. Study 5 validates the new measure against a measure of personality, engagement, the dark triad and work performance. Results show that GAH, but not GAL, has incremental validity over other measures in predicting work performance. Study 5 shows that GAH and GAL correlates with the dark triad traits leading to the inclusion of the HDS in Study 6. Results confirm the positive correlation of GAH with all aspects of the dark triad traits, and a positive correlation of GAL with Narcissism. Study 6 validates the new measure against the HPI and HDS, and investigates how the dark side of personality impacts on GAH and GAL and performance. Hierarchical regressions are conducted to explore the relationships between GAH, GAL, the HPI, the HDS and Performance. Results show that only GAH has incremental validity over and above the HDS and HPI in predicting performance. This thesis advances research in individual differences in personality in a number of key demonstrable ways: (1) by addressing an area of research that, so far, has not been investigated, and demonstrating gaps in current understanding of personality at work, through an investigation into ST; (2) by investigating whether higher order factors, reflecting ST, would be found within the HPI and the MPVI, something that has not been done before; (3) by presenting the design, development and validation of a new short measure for assessing both identity and reputation resulting in two higher order factors: GAH and GAL. In summary, as a result this research contributes to the study of personality differences at work, as well as indicating how the direction future research, building on these findings, can be developed.

U.S. State Resident Big Five Personality and Work Satisfaction: The Importance of Neuroticism:

Abstract: Two studies determined relations between state resident Big Five personality scores and state work satisfaction for the 50 states in the United States. Study 1 and 2 personality profiles were based...