Formal relationships

About: Formal relationships is a(n) research topic. Over the lifetime, 86 publication(s) have been published within this topic receiving 1706 citation(s).

Informal Relationships in the Workplace: Associations with Job Satisfaction, Organisational Commitment and Turnover Intentions

Abstract: Informal relationships between people within organisations can potentially either hinder or facilitate organisational functioning. The presence of informal relationships at work and the degree of cohesiveness perceived by individuals was investigated in two studies. The association between relationship factors and organisational outcomes such as job satisfaction, turnover intentions and organisational commitment were assessed. Study 1: Employees of a large Auckland hospital (NZ) (n=124) were surveyed using a pen and paper questionnaire. Results were analysed using path analysis and indicated that cohesiveness and opportunities for friendships were related to increased job satisfaction; leading to increased organisational commitment and decreased turnover intentions. The actual prevalence of friendships was primarily related to decreased turnover intentions. Overall there was good support for the proposed model. Study 2: To address some of the limitations of Study 1 (primarily sample size and homogeneity) a second study was conducted using an Internet based questionnaire; accessed both from within NZ and worldwide. A diverse sample of employees responded (n=412). Structural equation modelling indicated further support for most aspects of the model, suggesting that the findings are generalisable and the model is robust. ********** Numerous close friendships evolve from existing formal relationships in work places, and for many people, these relationships are maintained within the organisational setting. Yet, despite the frequency of dual friendship/work relationships, we know very little about how they function and how the blurring of relational boundaries might affect organisational functioning, the enjoyment of work, and perhaps even performance. Authors investigating workplace relationships comment on the dearth of literature in this area; there is relatively little theoretical or empirical work that has attempted to examine the behavioural or attitudinal consequences of informal relationships within the work context (Fritz, 1997; Riordan & Griffeth, 1995; Winstead, Derlega, Montgomery, & Pilkington, 1995; Zorn, 1995). In the early nineteen-thirties, Elton Mayo (1933) brought the topic of workplace relationships to wide attention, when he wrote the first management book focusing on the social needs of employees. Mayo advocated the role of socio-emotional factors in determining employee behaviour, contending that the extent to which employees received social satisfaction in the workplace was the most powerful influence on productivity. Subsequently, Maslow's (1954) classic theory of human motivation was published, which first described the "hierarchy of needs" contending that; as lower level needs (such as physiological and safety needs) are satisfied, higher level needs (such as social, esteem and self-actualisation needs) emerge as motivators. Needs have been shown to influence performance in certain jobs. For example, the opportunities to satisfy needs are still studied in organisational contexts, and are thought to be related to competence (Medcof & Hausdorf, 1995), organisational commitment (Steers, 1977; Steers & Braunstein, 1976), job satisfaction and tendency to leave (Zinovieva, ten Horn, & Roe, 1993). Thus, although the simple hierarchy that Maslow envisioned does not adequately reflect the complexity of human motivation, the philosophy still has use (Bedeian & Wren, 2001). Following this early attention to the topic however, the interest in workplace friendships waned. Although Hackman and colleagues developed the job characteristic termed "friendship opportunities" in the early seventies (Hackman & Lawler, 1971; Hackman & Oldham, 1975), it was not really until the last decade that scholars have focused on the impact of workplace friendships once again (e.g., Markiewicz, Devine, & Kausilas, 2000; Nielsen, Jex, & Adams, 2000; Riordan & Griffeth, 1995; Winstead et al. …

What Can the Family Contribute to Business? Examining Contractual Relationships:

Abstract: The degree to which the family dominates as a form of business organization depends in part on whether a business’s operations favor the implicit informal personal relationships of families or the explicit, formal, impersonal contractual relationships, characteristic of market-oriented organizations. In some situations family identity, trust, personal ties, and the monitoring functions that family relationships provide promote greater incentives for success than explicit, formal contracts. In other cases, formal relationships can provide a more effective means of linking workers within the firm, even when the workers are family members.

International Exposure Through Network Relationships: Implications for New Venture Internationalization

Abstract: Drawing on the network literature and attention-based view, we examine the extent to which international exposure from key informal (geographically proximate firms) and formal (alliance partners) network relationships impacts new venture internationalization. Our findings are three-fold. First, international exposure from both types of network relationships positively influence new venture internationalization, and serve as substitutes for each other. Second, the effects differ based on the age of the venture. While older ventures benefit more from international exposure from alliance partners, younger ventures are more influenced by international exposure from geographically proximate firms. Third, our analysis confirms a three-way interactive effect of age and international exposure from informal and formal relationships on new venture internationalization.

The Effects of Similarity and Liking in Formal Relationships between Mentors and Proteges.

Abstract: A longitudinal study of mentoring dyads was used to investigate the antecedents and consequences of liking in formal mentoring relationships. Demographic and deep-level similarity were examined as antecedents to liking in mentoring relationships. Following this, the association between the degree of liking and reports of mentoring functions provided was examined. Mentors and proteges differed in the similarity characteristics that impacted their perceptions of the mentoring relationship. Results also indicated that mentors’ level of liking for proteges was not related to proteges’ perceptions of mentoring functions received. Longitudinal data allowed examination of whether early perceptions of similarity predict final evaluations of mentoring functions. Analyses indicate that relationships change over time, further emphasizing the need to examine developmental relationships longitudinally.

Delineation of the social network and differences in network size

Abstract: There is a long-standing tradition in the field of gerontology of studying the social networks of the aged. Most studies focus on the support networks of the elderly and describe their personal networks by means of the supportive features of their relationships. Some studies define a social network as a set of persons with whom specific types of support are exchanged (Fischer, Jackson, Stueve, Gerson, Jones, & Baldassare, 1977; Wellman, 1981) or include relationships that are to some degree important to the focal person (Kahn & Antonucci, 1980). All these definitions narrow the study of social networks down to structures in which support is exchanged (Antonucci, 1985). However, individuals maintain many relationships in which very little if any support is exchanged. Social interaction can also be based on more or less institutionalized formal relationships, for example, those with relatives, coworkers, fellow members of organizations, and neighbours. Researchers who use these institutionalized relationships as their point of departure take living arrangements, household composition, marital status, and employment status as criteria for network membership (Berkman & Syme, 1979; Brody, Poulshock, and Masciocchi, 1978; Lin, 1982; Shanas, L979).