Showing papers on "Job performance published in 1986"

Performance, Slack, and Risk Taking in Organizational Decision Making

Abstract: This research paper investigates the relationship between organizational performance and risk taking in organizational decision making. A complex model is proposed in which the direct relationship, which is triggered by performance below acceptable levels, is negative, but the indirect relationships, which are mediated by organizational slack and decentralization, are positive. A test of the model for a cross-sectional sample of firms shows general support for the model. The findings have implications for theories that view change as arising from stable organizational processes.

The influence of trainee attitudes on training effectiveness: test of a model

Abstract: Studies of the influence of trainee characteristics on training effectiveness have focused on the ability level necessary to learn program content. Motivational and environmental influences on training effectiveness have received little attention. The purpose of this study was to test an exploratory model describing the influence on trainee career and job attitudes on training outcomes (learning, behavior change, performance improvement). Results of the study suggest that job involvement and career planning are antecedents of learning and behavior change. Future research directions and practical implications of the results are discussed. Training can be defined as a planned learning experience designed to bring about permanent change in an individual's knowledge, attitudes, or skills (Campbell, Dunnette, Lawler, & Weick, 1970). Training effectiveness is usually determined by assessing some combination of the criteria presented in Kirkpatrick's (1967) hierarchical model of training outcomes. This hierarchy is composed of four levels of training effects: trainees' reactions to the program content and training process (reaction), knowledge or skill acquisition (learning), behavior change (behavior), and improvements in tangible individual or organizational outcomes such as turnover, accidents, or productivity (results). A number of training evaluation studies have provided support for the hierarchical model (e.g., Clement, 1978; Fromkin, Brandt, King, Sherwood, & Fisher, 1975; Latham, Wexley, & Purcell, 1975).

Occupational stress: Its causes and consequences for job performance.

Abstract: This paper reports two studies of occupational stress and its relation with antecedent variables and job performance. The first study, in which 104 nurses participated in group discussions and 96 nurses completed a questionnaire, identified 45 stressful events for nurses. In the second study, 171 nurses who completed another questionnaire were also rated by a supervisor and/or a co-worker. Ratings of interpersonal aspects of job performance (such as sensitivity, warmth, consideration, and tolerance) and cognitive/motivational aspects (such as concentration, composure, perseverence, and adaptability) correlated significantly with self-reported perceptions of stressful events, subjective stress, depression, and hostility. Models developed through path analysis suggest that the frequency and subjective intensity of the 45 events identified in Study 1 cause feelings of stress, which lead to depression, which, in turn, causes decrements in interpersonal and cognitive/motivational aspects of job performance. Much of the literature on occupational stress emphasizes its effects on health. Dependent variables in such research include blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol level, and heart disease (Cooper & Marshall, 1976). We know relatively little, however, about the relation of stress to job performance. This article examines patterns of covariation between subjective stress and job performance and explores relations with individual characteristics, job conditions, stressful work events, and affective states.

Impact of job experience and ability on job knowledge, work sample performance, and supervisory ratings of job performance

Abstract: Une etude se fonde sur les donnees de 4 recherches independantes concernant 1474 sujets et sur une analyse de piste pour examiner l'impact causal de l'experience professionnelle sur la connaissance du travail, les capacites professionnelles et les evaluations par les superviseurs de la performance professionnelle

The dispositional approach to job attitudes: A lifetime longitudinal test.

Abstract: This research was supported in part by grant AG 4178 from the National Institute of Aging to the Institute of Human Development (John Clausen, principal investigator) and by a University of California faculty research grant to Barry Staw. Correspondence regarding this paper should be sent to Barry M. Staw, School of Business Administration, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720. Recent debates between the job enrichment and socialinformation-processing perspectives have led to a trend toward greater situationalism in organizational research. This paper, however, argues for a more dispositional approach in which the role of the person is emphasized. Using a longitudinal sample, measures of affective disposition from as early as adolescence were used to predict job attitudes in later life. Results showed that dispositional measures significantly predicted job attitudes over a time span of nearly fifty years. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of both theories of job attitudes and organizational development activities that attempt to alter employee job satisfactions

On the Causal Ordering of Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment

Abstract: In this article the authors discuss research they have conducted that examines the relationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment. They briefly discuss the definitions of each ...

Communication satisfaction, job satisfaction, and job performance

Abstract: This field study of 327 hospital nurses investigated the relationship between perceived satisfaction with organizational communication and job satisfaction and job performance. The researcher developed a research model incorporating nine dimensions of communication satisfaction and hypothesized their varying relationships with job satisfaction and job performance. Correlation, multiple regression, and canonical correlation analyses revealed significant positive relationships between communication satisfaction and job satisfaction, and communication satisfaction and job performance. The communication satisfaction-job satisfaction link was stronger. The same facets of communication—supervisor communication, communication climate, and personal feedback—were found to be most strongly related to both job satisfaction and performance. Although the importance of the superior-subordinate communication relationship was confirmed, top management communication also was substantially related to job satisfaction and, to a lesser degree, job performance. Rank-order correlation results of this study were compared to several other studies and some congruent patterns were found.

Outcomes of Autonomous Workgroups: A Long-Term Field Experiment

Abstract: A quasi-experimental design was used to study the long-term effects of implementation of autonomous workgroups in a manufacturing environment. Results indicated a substantial and lasting effect on employees' intrinsic job satisfaction, a more temporary effect on extrinsic job satisfaction, and no consequences for work motivation or performance. At an organizational level, however, improvements in productivity were made possible through elimination of supervisory positions; and contrary to prediction, labor turnover increased.

Predictors of the Performance of Project Groups in R & D Organizations

Abstract: Results from 32 project groups in a large R&D organization showed that group cohesiveness, physical distance, job satisfaction, and innovative orientation were associated with performance of projec...

Multi-Objective Assessment of Effectiveness of Strategic Planning: A Discriminant Analysis Approach

Abstract: Drawing on the relevant literature, this study develops seven key dimensions of planning systems, five reflecting their design aspects and two tapping the organizational context of planning. Discri...

Employee responses to formal performance appraisal feedback

Abstract: Author(s): Pearce, JL; Porter, LW | Abstract: The present study investigates the attitudinal impacts of the receipt of formal performance appraisal feedback. It is suggested that the feedback that one is "satisfactory" will be disconfirming for many feedback recipients. Therefore, it is hypothesized that (a) attitudes toward the performance appraisal systems and (b) organizational commitment will decrease and remain lower for those receiving "satisfactory" ratings, whereas the attitudes of those receiving higher appraisal ratings will remain unchanged. The hypotheses are tested on panels of management and nonmanagement employees (these latter receiving new appraisals 12 months after their managers) in two federal agencies over a 30-month period using perceived and actual performance ratings. There was a significant and stable drop in the organizational commitment of satisfactory employees after the introduction of formal appraisals, with mixed results for attitudes toward the appraisal system. The findings suggest that potentially negative consequences of implicitly comparative formal performance appraisals can occur for those performing at a satisfactory, but not outstanding, level. This study also provides an empirical check on the accuracy of self-reported appraisal ratings. © 1986 American Psychological Association.

Developing a Process Model of Problem Recognition

Abstract: A descriptive theoretical model is presented that explains how individuals recognize problems in organizational situations. The model draws on the information-processing literature in an attempt to capture key activities and their sequence in the process of problem recognition. The model suggests that individuals move among three stages of gestation, categorization, and diagnosis, and deal with choice and value situations as the process unfolds. The paper presents propositions for empirical testing. Implications for management education are offered.

Predictors and Consequences of Delegation

Abstract: This research examined predictors and consequences of delegation. Participants were 44 supervisors and 198 claims adjusters employed in 19 branch offices of a large insurance company. Delegation wa...

Layoffs, Equity Theory, and Work Performance: Further Evidence of the Impact of Survivor Guilt

Abstract: This study explored the effects of layoffs on survivors. We assessed subjects' work performance as a function of whether a co-worker had been laid off and the circumstances of that layoff. Consiste...

Psychology of Work and Unemployment

Abstract: This book is directed at industrial psychologists, human resource managers, consultants and social scientists interested in the psychological effect of employment and unemployment on people. It is an integration of research and theories about this effect. As far as employment is concerned it emphasizes that a significant number of employees have jobs which do not fully use their skills or provide personal satisfaction, and that the long term effects of such jobs include deterioration of employees' self image, personal control, intellectual functioning and social adjustment. The psychological effects are similar in kind to those experienced by people in unemployment - stress, helplessness, fatalism, and the implications for efficiency and motivation at work are serious. The book seeks to do more than give an account of factors affecting or affected by work behaviour - it considers the whole experience of employment, underemployment and unemployment and reviews the current state of our understanding of employment, leisure and retirement, as it relates to work attitudes, goals and performance. The book offers a critique of job design theories and guidance on improving work performance and job satisfaction.

Confirmatory Analytic Tests of Three Causal Models Relating Job Perceptions to Job Satisfaction.

Abstract: : Three alternative models of causal relations between job perceptions and job satisfaction were tested using confirmatory analytic techniques. The three causal models are: (a) a postcognitive-nonrecursive model in which job satisfaction occurs after job perceptions in the causal order, and job perceptions and job satisfaction are reciprocally related; (b) a precognitive-recursive model in which job perception occur after job satisfaction in the causal order and are effects but not causes of job satisfaction; and (c) a precognitive-nonrecursive model in which job satisfaction occurs prior to job perceptions, and job satisfaction and job perceptions are reciprocally related. Results of confirmatory analyses indicated disconfirmation of all but the postcognitive-nonrecursive model. (Author)

Burnout, Job Stress and Job Satisfaction Among Southern Correctional Officers: Perceptions and Causal Factors.

Abstract: Perceptions and causes of burnout, job stress and job satisfaction among a representative sample (N = 241) of Alabama correctional officers responding to a survey instrument were subject to analysis. After examining reported levels of burnout, stress and job satisfaction, findings were then compared to those from other studies. Multiple regression procedures were then utilized to identify significant predictors. Results indicated that a number of potentially alterable, organizational factors had a significant impact on officer perceptions; accordingly, several intervention strategies are offered for consideration.

Organizational Psychology and the Pursuit of the Happy/Productive Worker

Abstract: The issue of how to manage an organization so that employees are both happy and productive is an old and overworked topic, but one that remains a source of confusion and controversy. This article examines the psychological perspective to provide a realistic appraisal of where we now stand in the search for satisfaction and productivity in work settings. It explores the consistency of job attitudes and the intransigence of job performance. It then presents three systems commonly used in organizational change efforts and draws some conclusions about their alternative uses. Organizations must lower their expectations, but at the same time they must be committed to taking action that is flexible enough to allow for mistakes and adjustments in a sustained pursuit of the happy/productive worker.

The honeymoon effect in job performance: temporal increases in the predictive power of achievement motivation.

Abstract: Correlations between a job performance criterion and personality measures reflecting achievement motivation and an interpersonal orientation were examined at three points in time after completion of job training for a sample of airline reservations agents. Although correlations between the personality predictors and performance were small and nonsignificant for the 3-month period after beginning the job, by the end of six and eight months a number of significant relationships had emerged. Implications for the utility of personality measures in selection and performance prediction are discussed.

Performance outcome feedback and attributional feedback: interactive effects on recipient responses

Abstract: Modele de «feedback» au niveau individuel, en ce qui concerne la notation et l'evaluation des performances dans l'execution d'une tâche

The Proliferation of Job Titles in Organizations.

Abstract: An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1985 American Sociological Association annual meeting, Washington, D.C. The authors were supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation (SES 79-24905) and by generous research funds from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. The Occupational Analysis Division of the U.S. Employment Service graciously provided data and assisted us in this research. Teri Bush, Kelsa Duffy, and Ann Bucher worked wonders on the manuscript. Howard Aldrich, Glenn Carroll, Paul DiMaggio, Frank Dobbin, John Meyer, Jeffrey Pfeffer, Peter Reiss, and the ASQ editors and reviewers offered assistance and helpful comments on earlier versions of this paper. This paper develops and tests hypotheses about the characteristics of organizations and their environments that favor the proliferation of detailed job titles to describe work roles. A method for measuring the proliferation of job titles is proposed and applied to a sample of 368 diverse work organizations. It is hypothesized that proliferation is linked to four main factors: technical and administrative imperatives; internal political struggles over the division of labor; the institutional environment and its role in shaping personnel practices; and the market environment. Crosssectional and longitudinal analyses indicate that job titles proliferate most in organizations that are large, bureaucratic, rely on firm-specific skills, have a professionalized workforce, and are in institutional sectors. We describe howfragmentation among job titles imposes status gradations and gender distinctions in organizations, noting some important theoretical and practical implications of the phenomenon.*

Performance appraisal behaviors: supervisor perceptions and subordinate reactions

Abstract: This study examined supervisor perceptions and subordinate reactions to formal performance-appraisal reviews. The performance-appraisal behaviors of supervisors and the reactions of their subordinates were studied in a sample of university employees. A factor analysis revealed that there were three dimensions of formal performance appraisals: two developmental dimensions (being supportive; emphasizing performance improvement) and one administrative dimension (discussing pay and advancement). Regression analyses suggested that supervisors supported highly rated individuals and stressed improvement efforts for poor performers. After controlling for the level of previous performance ratings, results indicated that support in the appraisal review was associated with higher levels of employee motivation, while discussing pay and advancement was associated with higher levels of employee satisfaction. Unfortunately, improvement efforts by the supervisors did not influence job performance one year later.