bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Factors Influencing the Success and Failure of Two Quality Circle Programs
Authors: Steel Robert P. , Mento Anthony J. , Dilla Benjamin L. , Ovalle Nestor K. , Lloyd Russell F.
Published: March 2006

Quality circle (QC) programs instituted in two Department of Defense (DOD) organizations were evaluated within the framework of a nonequivalent control group design. Two waves of survey data were collected from 107 members of a military maintenance organization and 165 employees of a medical facility located on the same DOD installation. Analysis of covariance procedures on data from the maintenance sample isolated significant treatment group effects on 7 of the 20 criterion variables used in the study. However, QC treatment effects were not apparent in the covariance results for the hospital personnel. Subgroup analyses on the data provided by active QC members identified different patterns of responses from individuals in the two samples. Active circle members from the maintenance organization tended to evaluate their situation more favorably as the study progressed. In contrast, responses provided by active QC group members from the medical facility tended to take an increasingly more negative tone over the course of the study. Qualitative differences between the two organizations in the conduct of the QC intervention are reviewed in an effort to identify potential moderating variables conditioning the degree of program success.
Inside the Teaching Machine: Integrating Attribution and Reinforcement Theories
Authors: McElroy James C.
Published: March 2006

Attribution theory is presented as a potentially useful framework for understanding the workings of operant conditioning principles. Causal attributions for the receipt of reinforcements are posited to have a moderating effect on reinforcement predictions emanating from the law of effect. Attributions are hypothesized to explain the effects of reinforcements, the workings of reinforcement schedules, and the administration of reinforcements.
Practical and Emancipatory Interests in Organizational Symbolism: A Review and Evaluation
Authors: Stablein Ralph , Nord Walter
Published: March 2006

The purpose of this article is to review and evaluate the contribution of the study of organizational symbolism to the larger study of organization. We adopt Habermas' (1971) epistemological framework for the paper. This framework describes knowledge creation in the service of three key human interests: the technical, the practical, and the emancipatory. The literature on organizational symbolism is evaluated in the light of the framework. The following questions are addressed: What is the potential of the study of organizations oriented by symbolism with respect to these interests, especially the practical and emancipatory? How successfully has any such potential been realized in inquiry to date? What might account for organizational researchers' degree of success/failure? How might the potential be achieved more fully?
Breakfast at Spiro's: Dramaturgy and Dominance
Authors: Rosen Michael
Published: March 2006

An approach is presented here for analyzing the relationship between cultural and social action in bureaucracy. Symbols and power are shown as the primary variables of sociocultural study, where symbolic forms and techniques are manipulated by asymmetrical groups in the articulation of basic interests. Through their interrelationship the organizational conditions of production are reproduced or transformed. Social drama is the processual unit through which power relations, symbolic action, and their interaction are played out, and through which social structure is made evident. This perspective is applied to data from an ethnographic study of an advertising agency.
"When the Sleeper Wakes": A Short Story Extending Themes in Radical Organization Theory
Authors: Jermier John M.
Published: March 2006

This is a short story about the two minds of Mike Armstrong, Dialectical Marxist Theory's romantic "everyman " and Critical Theory's "anti-hero." The story contrasts day and night versions of Armstrong's worklife as a skilled operator in the control room of a large phosphate plant located in Tampa, Florida. The two versions are presented to illustrate theoretical descriptions of psychic processes engaged when human actors confront an alien world and make sense of it. Alternative forms of subjective alienation, relied consciousness (drawn from Critical Theory), and reflective militancy (drawn from Dialectical Marxism) are developed as deep psychic states through which meaning is constructed in the world. It is proposed that subjective alienation is shaped by mythical forces in the broader symbolic environment and that it profoundly conditions actions and attitudes. Its importance in understanding organizational behavior and the practice of humanistic management is discussed in terms of human meaning-making processes.
Organizations as Constructions and Destructions of Meaning
Authors: Gray Barbara , Bougon Michel G. , Donnellon Anne
Published: March 2006

Organizations are dynamic processes through which meaning is simultaneously constructed and destroyed. Organizations may be conceived of as continua along which meaning varies according to its degree of coincidence. On the one hand, organizations are stable because coincident concepts, relationships, and values are developed through socialization. These coincident meanings eventually become crystallized as informal and formal structures and are sustained if powerful organizational leaders can suppress the expression of competing interpretations. On the other hand, organizations are precarious because coincident meanings are also regularly destroyed through action-taking. Destruction of meaning has its origin in fundamental contradictions, which, if raised, create the potential for individual and organizational transformation.
Achieving Routine in Organizational Change
Authors: Pondy Louis R. , Huff Anne S.
Published: March 2006

We preconceived that uncertainty and the need to discover new framing concepts would frequently face school decision-makers trying to significantly alter their domain. In contrast, however, we found that familiar administrative mechanisms were used to channel consideration of a major decision—that of the computerization of the curriculum. These familiar administrative mechanisms were used in combination with inspired use of language to reinforce the routine frame. Thus, for organizational participants, the very routineness symbolized the unexceptional nature of a change that might otherwise have aroused considerably more attention.
Critical-Cultural Research: New Sensibilities and Old Realities
Authors: Deetz Stanley
Published: March 2006

Critical perspectives on cultural research in organizations have received much attention recently. Future directions for this work are explored here through a review of central concepts and research. Continuation, but with greater theoretical focus, is expected for studies of language, metaphor, stories, and myths, which investigate the creation and maintenance of domination through systematically distorted communication. New work with participative research procedures holds promise of providing greater organizational change. Generally, future research will be more empirical, focus more on structures and material conditions, and be more closely related to the lives of people in host organizations.
Facets of Work Support and Employee Work Outcomes: An Exploratory Analysis
Authors: Ford David L.
Published: March 2006

The present study investigated the relative effects of structural, informational, and emotional support on various positive and negative work outcomes for a sample of white-collar workers. Positive work outcomes included various facets of job satisfaction. Negative work outcomes included job stress, role stress, job burnout, and frustration. The sample was comprised of 166 (90 men and 76 women) black clerical, technicallnonsupervisory, and managerial personnel, who were administered questionnaires and several Likert-type rating scales testing their levels of job satisfaction. The results strongly suggested that emotional support was more important than the other two facets in the prediction of work outcomes, implying that managers and supervisors need to provide more emotional support to employees. Future research shouldfocus on a larger sample and on race, ethnic group, and organizational differences regarding responses to workrelated social support.
Implications of Controversy Research for Management
Authors: Tjosvold Dean
Published: March 2006

Several researchers have documented that controversy in which opposing views are openly discussed can contribute to decision making. A series of experimental andfield studies by the author and his associates has identified the dynamics of controversy and specified interpersonal conditions that affect controversy's outcomes. Findings indicate that controversy must be well managed before it is productive and must suggest the procedures and skills needed to make problemsolving groups effective. Controversy occurs in many organizational settings, but its potential role has been largely overlooked. This review suggests the implications of controversy research for strategic decision making, performance appraisal, and participation.
Social Support and Adjustment to Work: A Longitudinal Study
Authors: Fisher Cynthia D.
Published: March 2006

This study focused on the role played by social support on the job from coworkers and supervisor in facilitating newcomer adjustment and in mitigating the effects of unmet-expectations stress. The literature on social support indicates that it has three kinds of impacts on stress and subsequent outcomes: a main effect on outcomes, a main effect on perceived stress, and a moderating effect on outcomes. The present study investigated the interrelationships of stress, social support, and outcomes at work, using a sample of newly graduated nurses in their first six months on full-time hospital jobs. A longitudinal design employing three waves of data collection was used. Social support was found to have important main effects in reducing the level of unmet-expectations stress and facilitating positive adjustment outcomes among newcomers.
The Effect of Quantum Versus Incremental M-form Reorganization on Performance: A Time-Series Exploration of Intervention Dynamics
Authors: Hoskisson Robert E. , Galbraith Craig S.
Published: March 2006

This study was designed to examine the dynamics of quantum versus incremental M-form reorganization on financial performance. The dynamics of reorganizations in six companies were studied by means of time-series intervention analysis, since a structural change can beformally considered an' 'intervention" upon the existing organizational system. The technique used was Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) intervention analysis. Three different models of reorganization impact on performance were specified and examined. The results indicate that reorganization to the M-form produces a positive effect on financial performance, with incremental reorganizations having less of a positive impact than quantum reorganizations.
The Cognitive Structure of Corporate Social Responsibility
Authors: Boal Kimberly B. , Peery Newman
Published: March 2006

Few studies have attempted to empirically verify the concept of corporate social responsibility, although it has been discussedfor decades. This study is a multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis of a sample of 549 persons that suggests that corporate social responsibility can be viewed as a three-dimensional construct. The three dimensions include economic-noneconomiclhuman outcomes, ethical considerations, and consequences for relevant interest groups.
Pfeffer's Model of Management: An Expansion and Modification
Authors: Jongbloed Lyn , Frost Peter J.
Published: March 2006

This article, based on an exploratory study of Pfeffer's model of management, recommends several modifications to its conception of the relationships between managerial actions and substantive and symbolic outcomes. We suggest that the manager's influence on beliefs is not necessarily greater than on tangible outcomes, but is contingent on managerial motivation, the type of symbolic action employed, and the type of organization involved. Our data indicate that factors affecting the strength of the link between substantive and symbolic outcomes differ with the type of symbolic actions employed and with the existence (or absence) of efforts to make the use of power unobtrusive.
Need for Clarity as a Moderator of the Role Ambiguity-Job Satisfaction Relationship
Authors: Benson Philip G. , Kemery Edward R. , Sauser William I. , Tankesley Karen E.
Published: March 2006

The use of need for clarity as a moderator of the relationship between role ambiguity and job satisfaction was investigated. A sample of 370 employees of a large southeastern university responded anonymously to questionnaires. Results indicated that needfor clarity is in fact an independent predictor of job satisfaction, with high need for clarity related to low job satisfaction. In addition, needfor clarity added significantly to prediction of job satisfaction, beyond that for role ambiguity as a sole predictor. However, need for clarity did not function as a true moderator variable.
Conventional Wisdom and Ratings of Job Characteristics: Can Observers be Objective?
Authors: Cellar Douglas F. , Kernan Mary C. , Barrett Gerald V.
Published: March 2006

The present study explored the impact of incumbent satisfaction, job enrichment, and level ofjob-relevant information on observers' ratings of job characteristics. Two hundred and forty undergraduate students were randomly assigned to I of 12 experimental conditions in a 2x2x3 factorial design: unenriched versus enriched job, low versus high level of job-relevant information, and positive, negative, or no incumbent satisfaction cue. It was hypothesized that enrichment and the incumbent satisfaction cue would influence observers' ratings of job characteristics (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback). In addition, an interaction between level of information and the satisfaction cue was predicted, with the cue having a greater impact in the low-information condition. The results indicated that both enrichment and the satisfaction cue affected observer ratings, with the former having a greater effect on allfive task dimensions, while the interaction effect was not supported by the data.
Mapping Bank Employee Perceptions of Organizational Stimuli in Two Countries
Authors: Sekaran Uma
Published: March 2006

This study demonstrates a way of understanding how employees in different countries perceive, attach meaning to, interpret, and organize the stimuli surrounding them, by mapping their perceptions through the statistical technique of higher order factor analysis.

Responses to questionnaire items from a sample of267 white-collar workers in 12 banks in the Midwestern United States and 307 employeesfrom 9 banks in the urban parts of India werefirstfactor analyzed. The 19 factors that emerged in each of the two countries through this initial factor analysis, together with six other single-item variables, were then submitted to a higher order offactor analysis, individually for the two samples. Five nets or constellations of variables were captured in each of the two countries. The similarities and differences in the variables in the nets, and the implications of these for managers and researchers, are discussed here.
Technology Advances in Batch Production and Improved Competitive Position
Authors: Lengnick-Hall Cynthia A.
Published: March 2006

Gaining a competitive advantage from computerized manufacturing in batch production operations requires the realignment of structure and technology to create a new fit within the firm and innovative approaches to strategy selection and implementation. This article presents propositions for the effective strategic use of computerized batch production. These propositions are drawn from existing research and from observations offirms using advanced technology to gain a competitive edge.
Evidence for a Curvilinear Relationship Between Job Performance and Turnover
Authors: Jackofsky Ellen F , Ferris Kenneth R. , Breckenridge Betty G.
Published: March 2006

Research on job performance and turnover has not investigated the possibility of a curvilinear relationship between these variables. The present study tested for the presence of a curvilinear relationship between job performance and turnover in two diverse employee groups, using samples of 169 male accountants (average age: 25.6 years) and 107 owner-operator truck drivers (average age: 38.4 years). Measures of performance for the two samples were obtained from company records. Testing for a curvilinear effect within each sample was done by regressing performance and the performance squared term on turnover, and confirming the findings by using logistic regression. The resulting standardized regression equations were plottedfor each sample, using scores one to three standard deviations above and below the mean of the independent variables. Results indicated that performance was related to turnover in a curvilinear fashion in both professional and non-professional samples.
Public-Sector Context Versus Private-Sector Context as a Mediator of Financial Allocation Decisions
Authors: Bobko Philip , Davis Mark A. , Segar Hari V.
Published: March 2006

This study hypothesized that financial decision makers who felt responsible for previous monetary losses in public-sector conditions would allocate less to their specific projects than their nonresponsible counterparts would. The subjects were 320 undergraduate psychology students; 46% were male and 54% were female. Subjects were given a scenario involving a state agency's employability program with a declining placement rate, and asked to determine which of two sponsors would be the recipient of additionalfunds. The factor of responsibility was manipulated and the experiment was repeated in a private-enterprise setting. Results indicated that in public-context conditions, responsible subjects allocated significantly less money than did nonresponsible subjects, although this was not the case in private-context conditions. The findings suggest differential strategies for guiding allocation behavior in different contexts.
Nationality and Work Attitudes: A Study of Australian and American Business Majors
Authors: Dowling Peter J. , Nagel Trevor W
Published: March 2006

This study examined the work attitudes of American and Australian business majors in order to determine the effect of nationality on managerial attitudes. The subjects were 188 American (average age: 22.6 years) and 184 Australian (average age: 20.8 years) full-time undergraduate business students. Questionnaires were used to measure the job characteristic preferences, job value orientations, and organizational preferences of the two samples. The results showed that although each national group highly valued both intrinsic and extrinsic job factors, Americans placed greater emphasis on self-fulfillment, responsibility, and other intrinsic rewards, whereas Australians stressed extrinsic factors like income and job security. These national differences have implications for the management of multinational corporations.
Getting Inside the Head of the Management Researcher One More Time: Context-Free and Context-Specific Orientations in Research
Authors: Blair John D. , Hunt James G.
Published: March 2006

Context-free versus context-specific research orientations are discussed as researchers' cognitive styles that influence the way in which management research is conducted. Context-free research is considered as that conducted by researchers interested in phenomena (e.g., motivation, leadership, strategic planning) free of the particular organizational context in which the phenomena are found. By contrast, context-specific research is that which focuses on unique characteristics of types of organizations (e.g., health care or public sector organizations). The two orientations are compared and contrasted along some dozen issue areas ranging from analytical issues to application and professional issues. The relationship of these orientations to methodological preferences is examined. Examples are provided which show how combining these orientations has been used to enhance management research within a process called reality testing.
Evaluating the Research on Strategy Content
Authors: Fahey Liam , Christensen H. Kurt
Published: March 2006

This article defines the domain of strategy content research as embracing decisions about the goals, scope, and/or competitive strategies of a corporation or one of its business units. It reviews and evaluates several important streams of strategy content research (goals, diversification, strategic groups, market share, competitive strategy taxonomies, and stages of market evolution) in terms of the relationships among environmental conditions, strategic decisions, and performance results. It also makes recommendations for future research.
Contemporary Challenges in the Study of Organizations
Authors: Bedeian Arthur G.
Published: March 2006

Much is known about organizations; much remains to be discovered. Acknowledging that a paradigm for guiding the study of organizations has yet to be developed, the present article suggests various areas which might be usefully investigated to improve our understanding of organizations. Taking an eclectic approach, four areas of research interest are discussed: organizational effectiveness, organization-environment interactions, organizational learning, and organizational growth and decline. Research prospects in each area are introduced and reviewed.
Organizational Behavior: The Central Role of Motivation
Authors: Evans Martin G.
Published: March 2006

This review of the organizational behavior literature posits that the prime research focus should be the behavior of individuals in organizational settings rather than their affective reactions to those settings. Individual behavior is discussed in terms of motivation theory, with emphasis on the antecedents of goals and goal acceptance, feedback, and attributions, and on the consequences of performance. Factors such as leadership and job design are viewed as affecting behavior through their effects on motivation. The implications of the motivational modelfor researchers and practitioners are discussed.
Evolution of Concept and Practice in Personnel Administration/Human Resource Management (PA/HRM)
Authors: Mahoney Thomas A. , Deckop John R.
Published: March 2006

This review describes the evolution of personnel administrationlhuman resource management (PAIHRM) and discusses current trends and issues in the field. Recent shifts in orientation, such as changes from personnel to human resources, from administration to management, andfrom human relations to organizational effectiveness, are surveyed. These shifts are interpreted as indicative of a search for a unifying analyticalframeworkfor PAIHRM. Integrative concepts from the organization sciences, particularly the idea of different labor market structures, are viewed as possibilities for synthesizing HRM strategy. Approaches for future research and practice are suggested.
Argument and Narration in Organizational Communication
Authors: Weick Karl E. , Browning Larry D.
Published: March 2006

This review highlights the relevance of argumentation and narration for organizational communication, which is the exchange of information among organizational participants from which meaning is inferred. The links between argument and organizational rationality and between the narrative paradigm and organizational storytelling are discussed. Organizational and communication variables are viewed as mutually relevant. As the mixtures of argumentation and narration change, interaction changes, and different organizational structures are created. These processes have implications for both scholars and practicing managers.
Business and Public Policy
Authors: Preston Lee E.
Published: March 2006

Academic study of business and public policy (BAPP) is intimately linked with actual public policy development and with changing corporate structures and practices. BAPP includes such techniques and activities as environmental analysis, issues management, and public affairs. This article characterizes the current content and direction of the BAPP field and describes five areas presenting critical challenges for both analysts and practitioners. These are: (a) corporate governance, (b) organizational ethics, (c) the political influence of business, (d) the integration of BAPP analysis with strategic management, and (e) multinational business-society relationships.
Management Development
Authors: Wexley Kenneth N. , Baldwin Timothy T.
Published: March 2006

This review defines management development as the process by which individuals learn, grow, and improve their ability to perform professional management tasks. Recent literature is reviewed using a three-partframework: management education, management training, and on-the-job experiences. Severalfundamental concerns regarding existing research are identified and discussed, and their implications forfuture research and practice in management development are described.
The Role of Negotiated Belief Structures in Strategy Making
Authors: Walsh James P. , Fahey Liam
Published: March 2006

This article introduces the concept of a negotiated belief structure to help analyze how political and information-processing forces work to create decision premises within a strategy-making group. Negotiated belief structures are defined as the beliefs or assumptions that underscore a strategic decision, the enacted beliefs or assumptions that reflect the politics of decision-making. Negotiated belief structures may be limited, contested, contextual, or dialectical in nature. These types of belief structures and their implications for strategic decision making are discussed and a prescription for managing the strategymaking process is suggested.
Coping With the Corporate Tribe: How Women in Different Cultures Experience the Managerial Role
Authors: Symons Gladys L.
Published: March 2006

This article explores the ways in which women perceive, experience, and cope with the initiation rites of the corporate tribe (gaining entry, establishing credibility, and managing gender identity). The analysis is based on intensive interviews with managerial women (46 professionals and 21 self-made women) employed in a variety of industries in France and Canada. The rites these women experience transcend cultural boundaries and national frontiers. They are encountered by both professionals and self-made women, although some differences between the two groups are found. The analysis describes the process of incorporating women into management and brings to light problems for women and dilemmas for organizations. Individual coping strategies and suggestions for organizational change are discussed.
Procrustes: A Modern Management Pattern Found in a Classical Myth
Authors: Aredal Ake
Published: March 2006

The phenomenon of social control was investigated in this study of a Swedish interorganizational committee appointed to propose a system of economic compensation for dentists in private practice. A hermeneutic (interpretative) method was used to examine the factors controlling the organization. Understanding of the committee's decisions and arguments became possible by analogy with the figure of Procrustes in the Greek myth of Theseus. The symbol of the Procrustean bed-standardization by removing extremes-explained the observed inconsistencies and contradictions in the committee's actions, thereby revealing the usefulness of myth in understanding organizational processes.
The Development of Henry Metcalfe's Card System of Shop Returns at Frank ford Arsenal, 1880-1881
Authors: Reid William H.
Published: March 2006

This article describes the development of Captain Henry Metcalfe's card system of cost accounting and production control at Frankford Arsenal in the 1880s. Metcalfe's concern over being unable to account for costs within the workshops at Frankford Arsenal led to influential consultations with private manufacturers and to a series of correspondence with his superiors, in which he described a card system which would apply the principle of "independence offunction," long accepted in machine design, to both the arsenal's workers and books. These unpublished manuscript materials are discussed and Metcalfe shown to be afigure of wider historical interest.
Effectiveness of Specificity in Recruitment Advertising
Authors: Mason Nancy A. , Belt John A.
Published: March 2006

The specificity ofjob descriptions and the specificity of applicant qualifications contained in fictitious recruitment advertisements were manipulated in this study to determine their effect on the probability of response. The subjects were two groups of senior-level engineering students who were designated as either qualified or unqualified (based on their cumulative grade point averages) for the jobs described in the ads. Questionnaires were used to gather data on the participants' evaluation (on a 7-point scale) of each ad in terms of the likelihood of their responding to it and its relative ranking. A repeated measures analysis of variance and summation of individual ranks were used to examine the data. Results indicated that specificity of applicant qualifications had a significant negative effect on probability of response for unqualified individuals.
Trust, Perceived Importance of Praise and Criticism, and Work Performance: An Examination of Feedback in the United States and England
Authors: Earley P. Christopher
Published: March 2006

This article describes two studies which examined the usefulness of performance feedback in shaping American and English workers' behaviors. In thefirst study, an in-basket task was used to assess the importance of praise or criticism concerning work performance for 36 American and 36 English workers from a traditional, heavy-manufacturing industry in the United States and England. A second study was conducted (n = 86 for the U.S., n = 74 for England) to examine the relations among a worker's trust in a supervisor, perceived importance of praise and criticism, a worker's perceived amount of praise and criticism received, and performance. Results suggest that American and English workers valued and responded to praise and criticism differently, and that the influence of the feedback was partially mediated by a worker's trust in thefeedback source and perceived importance of the feedback.
Self-Serving Biases in Leadership: A Laboratory Experiment
Authors: Dobbins Gregory H. , Russell Jeanne M.
Published: March 2006

The present study investigated the role of self-serving biases in leaders' and subordinates' attributions for group performance and their appropriateness ratings of various supervisory actions. Subjects were 144 undergraduate students who were randomly assigned to the roles of leader or subordinate and asked to work on a simulated manufacturing task. Following a 20-minute work session, groups received either high or low performance feedback. Leaders and subordinates then made attributions for the group's performance and rated the appropriateness of various supervisory actions. Analyses indicated that leaders attributed low group performance to subordinates, whereas subordinates attributed low group performance to leaders. In addition, leaders rated the supervisory actions of training and punishment as more appropriate than did subordinates. The implications of these findings for attributional approaches to leadership, leader-subordinate conflict, and leadership training are discussed.
Managers as Agents Without Principals: An Empirical Examination of Agency and Constituency Perspectives
Authors: Leblebici Huseyin , Fiegenbaum Avi
Published: March 2006

This study empirically investigated the propositions generated from agency and constituency perspectives about the nature of the managerial role. The managerial role was conceptualized as an integral part of the existing outcome interdependencies and power relations among a set of constituencies. By using time-series data on 160 companies in 10 manufacturing industries and performing three-stage least squares (3SLS) analyses, it was found that both competitive and symbiotic outcome interdependencies exist among the constituencies of organizations, and that these interdependencies are related to the long-term average outcomes of these constituencies. The implications of thesefindings for the symbolic role of managers is discussed.
Partialling Factor Scores Does Not Control Method Variance: A Reply to Podsakoff and Todor
Authors: Kemery Edward R. , Dunlap William P.
Published: March 2006

Podsakoff and Todor (1985) proposed partialling the first principal component from observed correlations as a procedure for controlling method variance. Using mathematical derivations and Monte Carlo simulation, we found that this procedure is biased. Partialling out the first principal component introduces a negative bias into the resulting correlations that seriously compromises subsequent analysis. Moreover, the extent of bias is not reduced by increasing sample size; however, it is inversely proportional to the number of variables. Therefore, partialling the first principal component is not recommended. Researchers are encouraged to collect data with multiple methods whenever feasible.
Task Effectiveness and Interaction Process of a Modified Nominal Group Technique in Solving an Evaluation Problem
Authors: Hegedus D. M. , Rasmussen R. V.
Published: March 2006

This article reviews the research on the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) and presents the results of a laboratory investigation of a modified version of the NGT. The study compared the effectiveness of the NGT, unstructured group work (UNS), and pooled-individual efforts on an evaluation task. It also assessed the effects of NGT and UNS group work on interaction process. Subjects were 351 first and second-year university students who were randomly assigned to 53 NGT groups and 47 UNS groups, with 51 students working as individuals. The evaluation task used was Haney's (1979) Uncritical Inference Test. Measures of interaction process were taken through audiotape recordings and questionnaires. Results indicate that the NGT procedure is suitable for solving divisible evaluation tasks but less usefulfor unitary evaluation tasks. Implications for research and managerial practice are discussed.
The Congruence of Goal-Setting Strategies With Socio-Cultural Values and its Effect on Performance
Authors: Erez Miriam
Published: March 2006

The congruence between goal-setting strategies and socio-cultural values of the working environment was investigated in this study. A 3 x 3 factorial design was used to compare kibbutz, public (Histadrut), and private sectors with respect to the goal-setting strategies of group participation, participation by representation, and no participation. Subjects were 135 first-level supervisors who evaluated forms of task descriptions filled out by their subordinates. Performance was measured by the number of descriptions checked by the supervisors. Results indicated that in the private sector, the most effective strategy was assigned goals; in the public sector, participation by representation; and in the kibbutz, group participation. The implications of thesefindings for participation in goal setting and decision making are discussed.
Biography and the Assessment of Transformational Leadership at the World-Class Level
Authors: Bass Bernard M. , Avolio Bruce J. , Goodheim Laurie
Published: March 2006

This study examined how world-class leaders differ on five transactionalltransformational leadership factors. Biographical accounts were used to assess leadership. Subjects were 149 undergraduate business students who completed a multi-factor leadership behavior questionnaire as if they were subordinates of one of 68 world-class leaders whose biographies they had read. Additional ratings of a subsample of world-class leaders were completed by participants who had not read biographies of their chosen leaders. Results indicated support for the construct validity and reliability of biographical data as a measure of leadership qualities. Recommendationsforfurther improving the reliability of psychohistorical procedures are offered.
On the Psychodynamics of Organizational Totalitarianism
Authors: Schwartz Howard S.
Published: March 2006

A theory of organizational totalitarianism is developed, based on Freud's concept of narcissism and his theory of the "ego ideal" (1921/ 1955, 191411957) Klein's (1948) theory of "splitting" and Shorris' (1981) thinking concerning the totalitarian aspects of the corporation. The idea of a perfect organization, referred to here as the "organization ideal," is a symbol that represents the return to narcissism-to being the center of a loving world. Since the return to narcissism is impossible, committed participants in the totalitarian organization maintain a belief in the organization ideal by believing that its attainment is achieved by progress through the organization's hierarchy. This requires commitment to the belief that individuals more advanced in the hierarchy represent the organization ideal. This turns organizational process into the living out of the narcissistic fantasies of those in power. Consequences of this are passivity and slavishness, shamefulness, cynicism, loneliness and the loss of the psychological gains that could otherwise come from socially useful work. The problems of American industry may be partly due to totalitarian processes and present attempts at management through culture may be a further stage of the disease.
Public-Private Cooperation and Hybrid Organizations
Authors: Emmert Mark , Crow Michael M.
Published: March 2006

This article examines the nature and role of hybrid organizations (those which are part public, part private) as coordinating mechanisms that facilitate public sector and private sector interaction. The study examines 250 public, private, and hybrid R&D organizations to determine their structural, environmental, and behavioral differences. Environmental and behavioral differences are found to be significant and consequential in terms of the usefulness of hybrids as coordinating mechanisms.
A Comparison of Entrepreneurs and Managers of Small Business Firms
Authors: Begley Thomas M. , Boyd David P.
Published: March 2006

This study explores the relationship between entrepreneurship and small business management. Business founders are classified as entrepreneurs and nonfounding chief executives are classified as small business managers. Findings indicate that (a) on personal and firm characteristics, eight variables differentiate the groups; (b) onfinancial performance indicators, entrepreneurial firms show higher growth rates; and (c) hard-driving competitiveness consistently associates with financial performance for small business managers but not for entrepreneurs. Data come from questionnaires completed by members of the Smaller Business Association of New England.
Measurement of Business Economic Performance: An Examination of Method Convergence
Authors: Venkatraman N. , Ramanujam Vasudevan
Published: March 2006

Strategic management researchers have measured business economic performance (BEP) through either perceptual assessments of senior executives or secondary data sources, but few explicitly evaluate the degree of convergence across methods. In an effort to examine method convergence, we collected data on three dimensions-sales growth, net income growth, and profitability (ROI) using both methods. Although convergent and discriminant validity were achieved using Campbell and Fiske's Multi Trait, Multi Method (MTMM) and Confiratory Factor Analysis (CFA), the approaches yielded different insights. The advantages of CFA over MTMM is demonstrated with implications for strategy research.
A Role Model Approach to Sexual Harassment
Authors: Popovich Paula M. , Licata Betty Jo
Published: March 2006

This paper includes a brief review of the limitations of research on the definition, detection, and prevention of sexual harassment in organizations. It is proposed that sexual harassment may be explained using a role model approach. It is suggested that the existing literature on role conflict and role ambiguity may provide a theoretical framework to guide empirical investigations of the causes of sexual harassment. The use of role clarification techniques to reduce or prevent sexual harassment is also discussed.
A Review of Strategic Process Research
Authors: Huff Anne S. , Reger Rhonda Kay
Published: March 2006

This article reviews research on the process of strategic management reported over the last six years in seven leading journals. Nine " 'streams" of work are identified and critiqued. The field is described as giving continuing attention to the possibilities and problems of strategic planning and decision making, but also moving into new areas of research-especially the problem of how the attention of decision makers is directed toward specific agendas for action. We recommend more studies that simultaneously consider strategy formulation and implementation and more studies that attempt to integrate methods and concerns across the various areas of process research. Finally, we recommend that future research give simultaneous attention to the content as well as the process of strategy.
Entrepreneurship: An Integrating Typology and Evaluation of the Empirical Research in the Field
Authors: Wortman Max S.
Published: March 2006

Entrepreneurship is one of the newest research fields in management. Most of the empirical research has been completed in the last decade. Other disciplines have made significant contributions to the field. An integrating framework and typology were formulated by Wortman (1986b). Against that framework and typology, this review has examined most of the empirical research in the past decade. Significant shifts in the nature and scope of the field and in research design, methods, and statistics used have occurred. Proposed research studies and questions are primarily in the exploratory stages of the development of a new field. Little of the research has been disseminated to entrepreneurs.
Careers and Socialization
Authors: Hall Douglas T.
Published: March 2006

This review examines important developments in the field of socialization and careers since the mid-1970's, a period during which the field has come into maturity. Definitions of the two concepts are examined. Putting the two concepts together, career is viewed as a longterm "bundle" of socialization experiences, as the person moves in, through, and out of various work-related roles over the span of his or her work life. A career spectrum is used to organize the literature. Three general areas are examined, from micro to macro: individual processes, person-environment interaction processes, and institutional processes. Areas of relative strength and weakness in the literature are assessed, and conclusions for the practicing manager are presented.
Public-Sector Management Today: Advanced Differentiation and Early Institutionalization
Authors: Golembiewski Robert T.
Published: March 2006

This summary article draws attention to four central questions concerning a turbulent and even troubled area of inquiry and practice. Three questions dominate. What is "public sector management" or PSM? How has PSM been approached? Whatfactors complicate coming to grips with PSM? The focus is basically descriptive-on what usually has been considered under the rubric PSM. Consequently, loose ends get more attention than prescriptionsfor tidying-up an area of inquiry and practice that now finds itself variably responding to political as well as analytic challenges. However, a fourth question does get some attention: How can we do better in PSM research?
Management History: Issues and Ideas for Teaching and Research
Authors: Wren Daniel A.
Published: March 2006

This review examines the study of management history and discusses its role in management education. Management history provides a theoretical baseline, a historical perspective, and aframework for building and integrating knowledge. After examining issues in teaching and research, future needs and directions for management history are indicated.
Operations Management: A Field Rediscovered
Authors: Chase Richard B. , Prentis Eric L.
Published: March 2006

"Manufacturing is in flower. After years of neglect, America's factories are taking on a fresh allure." This quote from Time (DeMott, 1984) also applies directly to the field of operations management, a field that was spawned in the factory and has only recently reentered the limelight as a subject of practical and academic concern. This review provides an overview of operations management with emphasis on current research trends and research needs. Our objective is to position the field relative to other functional disciplines of business and to suggest research areas where interdisciplinary work seems particularly worthwhile.
Research Methodology in Organizational Studies
Authors: Podsakoff Philip M. , Dalton Dan R.
Published: March 2006

Despite the mounting number of criticisms of the use of a relatively restricted set of methodologies in the organizational sciences, few studies have attempted to empirically determine the extent of this restriction or the potential reasons why some methods are used so exclusively. For this review, the authors content-analyzed all of the articles from the 1985 volumes of the Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes to determine the range of strategies used in organizational research. Our analysis of the literature does, indeed, suggest that there is a relatively limited set of research strategies and analytical procedures that represent the "methods of choice" in the organizational sciences. Potential reasonsfor thesefindings, as well as some of their implications are provided.
The Relationship Between Work/Nonwork Role Conflict and Job-Related Outcomes: Some Unanticipated Findings
Authors: Wiley Donna L.
Published: March 2006

This study investigated the relationship between multiple dimensions of work/nonwork role conflict andfour personal and job-related outcomes. It was predicted that the work!nonwork role conflict variables would be negatively related to job and life satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational commitment. Results indicated that various aspects of role conflict are significantly related to work outcomes, but not always in the expected fashion. Specifically, conflict between job andfamily roles was negatively associated with satisfaction measures as predicted, but was positively related to job involvement and organizational commitment. The findings suggest that certain job-related attitudes may result in increased levels of interrole conflict. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Constraining Forces and the Work Performance of Finance Company Cashiers
Authors: Steel Robert P. , Mento Anthony J. , Hendrix William H.
Published: March 2006

A field study was performed examining the influence of situational constraints on the job performance of 368 finance company cashiers. Increasing levels of contextual constraint (as rated by a cashier's immediate supervisor) were negatively related to supervisory performance ratings, self-appraisals, and objective performance criteria. No differences were in evidence in the degree ofperformance variation found in high and low constraining task environments. Constraints were also found to be weakly related to ancillary measures of cashier work load.
Divestment Decision-Making: The Role of Business Unit Size
Authors: Duhaime Irene M. , Baird Inga S.
Published: March 2006

This study reports exploratory empirical research regarding divestment decision-making, focusing especially on the role of business unit size in such decisions. Data from two related studies suggest that unit size has an important impact on divestment decision-making. Corporate strategists should devote more attention to the size variable when considering acquisitions, resource allocations, and managerial career paths.