bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A model for training research from the workers' perspective
Authors: Bjorkquist David C. , Lewis Theodore
Published: July 2007

Individuals are not inclined to think of themselves as human capital in the workplace. Workers are uniquely different from other factors of production because they make choices. Workers' perspectives need to be considered in human resource development, and a model for training research with this viewpoint is presented here. One axis of the model describes the workers' agenda: worker autonomy, compensation, health, and worker‐environment fit. The other axis identifies influences on training outcomes that must be considered in any training research: identification of performance deficiencies, learning conditions, and worker commitment. The literature that supports this model is reviewed, and examples of research questions generated by the model are provided.
Invited reaction: The necessary ingredient for authentic participation in the planning process for training is a labor union
Authors: Rosen Stanley
Published: July 2007

The preceding article presents us with the sound proposal that the best quality and most effective training can be achieved by incorporating workers' inputs and perspectives. My response provides an analysis of power relations that questions whether any meaningful participation can take place where management goals and objectives dominate the training process. I propose that lacking a union, no meaningful participation can or will take place. Further, under all circumstances collaborative and participative research is required as a first step to ensure worker input.
Workplace social networks and their relationship to student retention in on‐site ged programs
Authors: Vann Barry A. , Hinton Barbara E.
Published: July 2007

A food‐processing corporation hosted on‐site General Educational Development (GED) programs. Despite a monetary reward for completing the time‐and‐achievement criteria established by the host corporation, student retention was low. This study suggests that on‐site program planners should address the social environment of the workplace as a factor influencing student retention in GED programs conducted in workplace locations. The research examined the workplace socialization factors that affected whether 151 former students became program finishers or dropouts. Sixty‐eight former students participated in the study. Thirty‐one of the respondents were classified as program finishers, and 37 were classified as dropouts. The respondents completed a sociometric instrument that delineated their previous educational levels, their in‐plant networks' educational levels, and their in‐class clique status. A chi‐square test found a relationship between clique‐membership status and retention ([1, N = 68] = 10.83, p < .001). An analysis‐of‐variance (ANOVA) test found that the educational levels of the finishers' networks differed from those of the other groups, (F[3, 218] = 10.17, p < .01).
Power and the production of knowledge: Collective team learning in work organizations
Authors: Brooks Ann K.
Published: July 2007

Extended and complex work environments have made it difficult for individuals to single‐handedly conceptualize and solve organizational problems. Recognizing the limited information and knowledge available to a single person and the potential creative power of teams, organizations have increasingly used teams to take on learning tasks such as product development, improvement of work processes, and strategic planning. In spite of the extensive research on groups and teams, little research has been conducted on how teams learn.

This article draws on a qualitative multiple case study to identify team‐learning tasks, and then to examine how organizational structures make it difficult for low‐power members to carry out those learning tasks. It proposes that unequal formal power among employees is a “critical level” influencing the success or failure of learning teams and links the difficulties teams encounter to the culture and history of the United States.
A diagnostic model for team building with an illustrative application
Authors: Bottom William P. , Baloff Nicholas
Published: July 2007

Team building is a very popular HRD intervention. Yet research results have been mixed, providing little support for such widespread application. This study begins by examining the reasons for these inconsistent results. In general, researchers have failed to diagnose the appropriateness of team‐building interventions and to tailor interventions to the specific needs of teams. This in turn reflects the absence of an explicit theory of team building in which relevant variables are identified and related. To correct this, a group‐process model is proposed for purposes of diagnosis and for designing specific team‐building interventions. Application of this model is illustrated with an empirical study of team building utilizing a complex management‐simulation game with newly formed groups. The results illustrate the diagnostic application of the model and provide support for team building as a means of improving group effectiveness through its effect on group process in this situation. Implications for future team‐building research and for the practice of team building are discussed.
The impact of the imf on government expenditures: A study of african LDCs
Authors: Harris Geoff , Kusi Newman
Published: July 2007

This paper examines the impact of IMF programmes on government expenditure allocations in African LDCs since the late 1970s. There was no obvious impact on expenditure by major economic function; for expenditure by type, only subsidies changed significantly as a proportion of central government expenditure. A more detailed analysis of military expenditure found that it was more likely to be cut in countries involved with the IMF. Possibly, the economic weaknesses which drove some countries to the IMF also caused them to cut military expenditure.
Aid, the public sector and the market in less developed countries: A return to the scene of the crime
Authors: Mosley Paul , Hudson John , Horrell Sara
Published: July 2007

The paper returns to the question of what is the correct structural form for the relationship between aid, other financial flows, and economic growth rates, using a crosssection approach and – for the first time – data for the entire 1980s as well as the 1960s and 1970s. For the 1980s the aggregate partial regression coefficient of aid on growth emerges, for the first time, as positive and (just) significant, although this result does not survive the partitioning of the sample into sub‐groups. It remains obvious that the effect of aid on growth is country‐specific, and in the later part of the paper we test a new approach under which aid effectiveness passes through a cycle, first increasing and then diminishing as a country's stage of economic development alters. If this approach is accepted (and the initial results, with an informal test, are promising) the overall crosssection relationship between aid and growth, abstracting from other influences, will be neutral in most periods.
Interest group politics and the implementation of adjustment policies in sub‐Saharan Africa
Authors: Toye John
Published: July 2007

The political assumptions underlying the structural adjustment programmes of the 1980s were initially derived from the theory of urban bias. This paper questions the validity of those assumptions, by reference to case studies of the implementation of adjustment policies in three sub‐Saharan African countries–Ghana, Malawi and Kenya. Attention is focused on the agricultural interests of the political elites in Kenya and Malawi as an impediment to implementation. A critique is then offered of the plea for authoritarian regimes as protagonists of economic liberalization. In conclusion, the prospects of using aid as leverage for political liberalization are discussed.
The effect of real exchange rate changes on output: Jamaica's devaluation experience
Authors: Rhodd Ruper T. G.
Published: July 2007

Developing economies have relied upon devaluation to assist in the correction of fundamental disequilibrium in the balance of payment. As posited by conventional economic theory and proven by empirical research, a devaluation improves the balance of payments by reducing the demand for imports and increasing the supply of exports. However, recent research on devaluation insists that correction of the trade deficit occurs concurrently with income reduction. Using a three‐market Keynesian model, the conclusion reached in this research on the Jamaican economy is that a devaluation is contractionary in the short run and expansionary in the long run.
Housing investment and chinese rural development: Preliminary results from a survey in jiangsu province
Authors: Enjiang Cheng
Published: July 2007

The high propensity of rural households to invest in housing following economic reforms in China is a consequence of increasing household income, the changing environment for investment in farm and non‐farm production in rural areas, and inflation experienced in China in recent years. The housing boom has important implications for rural investment and output, and for the development of rural construction and related industries.
War and underdevelopment: Can economic analysis help reduce the costs?
Authors: Stewart Frances
Published: July 2007

It is undeniable that wars impose enormous human, social and economic costs on the countries involved. It is equally true that wars, at the very least, undermine the process of development. Despite widespread recognition of these simple facts there is remarkably little economic analysis of the effects of war and of what can be done to mitigate these effects. This paper is a step towards reversing such neglect in economic literature. The paper outlines the routes through which war imposes human, development and economic costs. A typology of wars is presented and the available evidence on some 16 countries' experiences with war is reviewed. The routes through which wars impose costs are traced with a view to identifying some policy interventions that can mitigate the economic effects. Feasible policies include interventions which help to alleviate the impact of war, such as providing food and relief to maintain social services, and those which mitigate against long‐term costs by, for example, maintaining infrastructure. There are no simple solutions, but economic analysis of wars can assist in the design of policies to reduce the developmental costs associated with wars.
The new political economy and policy reform
Authors: Meier G. M.
Published: July 2007

Economists involved in offering policy advice to developing countries have often expressed frustration at the extent to which political factors within developing countries have thwarted the implementation of effective economic reform. While the focus of economic policy in the first few decades after World War II was on overcoming market failures, since the 1970s the focus has been on overcoming government failures. This paper examines how politics interacts with economic policy, in particular to consider if the new political economy can help us to achieve the political reform that seems essential if economic reform programmes are to be effective. The conclusion is that economic advice, and advisers, must understand the political environment within which policies will be implemented.
NGO income generation programmes for Afghan refugees in Pakistan
Authors: Sinclair Margaret
Published: July 2007

Non‐governmental organization (NGO) income generation programmes for Afghan refugees in Pakistan comprise waged employment such as public works and production of relief goods, provision of income‐earning ‘starters’ such as seeds and poultry, microenterprise promotion, production and marketing schemes, environmental conservation and vocational training including apprenticeship. In the early 1980s more attention was given to waged employment. By 1990 the emphasis had changed to promotion of self‐employment of vulnerable groups, notably needy female heads‐of‐household and disabled men. Some activities were reserved for disabled men, mostly war victims, to avoid market saturation. Long‐standing international NGO programmes have formed a model for the many Afghan NGOs recently established to rehabilitate Afghanistan after the devastation caused by a decade of war.
Poverty alleviation in El Salvador: An appraisal of the Cristiani Government's social programme
Authors: Sollis Peter
Published: July 2007

This article appraises the social programme of the Cristiani Government which intends to meet the basic needs of the poorest sectors. It identifies three main components: an emergency programme undertaken during stabilization; a social investment fund intended to compensate those affected by structural adjustment; and long‐term restructuring of social service delivery. Each component is assessed in terms of the target group, donor support, institutional framework and monitoring and evaluation of impact. The article examines the claim that the model of social service delivery in El Salvador is a model for other Latin American countries. The conclusions reached are that programme congestion at the local level is likely to thwart attempts to decentralize service delivery, and that community participation is a key element in any attempt to reform the social sector.
Good science for public policy
Authors: Thompson Michael
Published: July 2007

The paper shows how scientific research intended to identify and evaluate policy options incorporates social constructions of reality which make some assumptions appear plausible and others not. The point is not to argue the relativism of science, but rather to argue that there is a restricted set of social constructions, for example of the nature of the environment, broadly associated with different kinds of social groups. Good policy practice recognizes these plural rationalities.
The integration of financial and economic analysis in project analysis
Authors: Sell Axel
Published: July 2007

Economic analysis can be considered as an enlargement of the scope of financial analysis and is best based on the gross financial cash flow schedule. In a properly arranged income distribution table it is possible to split up the economic net benefit of a project into the investor's financial benefit and that of other parties involved, including the state. Multicriterion analysis cannot substitute for cost‐benefit analysis of typical development projects, but it might become a supporting tool to use in structuring decision problems if intangibles are of relevance.
Adjustment policy and agricultural development
Authors: Guillaumont Patrick
Published: July 2007

This paper surveys the main relations between adjustment policy and agricultural performance during the 1980s with special focus on African countries. Firstly it shows why adjustment may favour agricultural development. Then it considers why the implementation of the main policy measures may not lead to the expected results. Special attention is given to the exchange rate policy (strong currency depreciation is often associated with a decline in real producer prices), trade liberalization (and the conditions of an efficient producer price stabilization) and fiscal policy (decreasing fiscal deficit has different consequences on the agricultural sector depending on the tax increases and expenditure cuts).
Land reform in south africa: Options to consider for the future
Authors: van Zyl J. , van Rooyen C. J. , Kirsten J. F. , van Schalkwyk H. D.
Published: July 2007

The paper examines alternative modalities for the forthcoming process of land reform in South Africa. It is argued that the criteria of relieving rural poverty and maximizing allocative efficiency will conflict to some degree. However, it is possible to visualize a range of land reform options which encompass both of these objectives as a basis for the operations of the new multiracial government which will take office in South Africa on 27 April, 1994.
The use of aid money for debt reduction a view from inside
Authors: van Kesteren Karel
Published: July 2007

A description is given of debt reduction operations funded with aid money from the Netherlands. On the basis of his experience in the Netherlands aid administration, the author draws some lessons from those operations, making a distinction between debt buy‐backs and debt swaps (the latter variety containing a local currency payment by the debtor government). The implications of those operations for the debtor's economy at large are reviewed, as is the parallel between reduction of bank debt and that of bilateral official debt. The detailed conclusions can serve as guidelines for those using aid money for debt reduction or considering that option.
Trade, aid and relative price changes in sub‐saharan africa in the 1980s
Authors: Helleiner G. K.
Published: July 2007

This note suggests that sub‐Saharan countries have experienced declining terms of trade during the 1980s but also an increase in export diversification. On the evidence presented it is unlikely that those countries which have undertaken significant real devaluations in adjustment programmes in the 1980s now exhibit any significant distortion in respect of their real exchange rate.
Policy and technology for rice productivity growth in Asia
Authors: Rosegrant Mark W. , Pingali Prabhu L.
Published: July 2007

In the past decade, declining rice prices, a slowdown in research expenditures and output growth, reduced irrigation investment and degradation of irrigated land, declining marginal returns to input use, and a stagnant technological yield frontier caused declining growth in rice yields per hectare in much of Asia. Future growth in rice productivity will increasingly come from improved management and efficiency of use of the resources utilized in rice production, in contrast to the rapid dissemination of modern technology which has been dominant in the past. The foundations for increased efficiency in rice production are greater investment in research, extension, and education to upgrade human capital, combined with establishment of economic incentives that reflect the social opportunity costs of scarce resources.
Recent demographic change in Tanzania: Causes, consequences and future prospects
Authors: Mturi Akim J. , Hinde P. R. Andrew
Published: July 2007

Fertility in Tanzania has declined from seven children per woman in the early 1980s to about six in the early 1990s. This trend is a result of a rise in the age at first marriage for women, a decline in infant and child mortality, a rise in the percentage of the population with education, and rural development. The continuing universal and prolonged breastfeeding also has a significant negative effect on fertility. A further fertility decline in Tanzania will depend mainly on the success of the family planning programme, which in turn will improve the performance of the economy, health, education, employment, agriculture and the environment. Mortality levels have declined but are still high owing to various factors, including short birth intervals, teenage pregnancies, the low status of women, the lack of adequate health services and facilities and a lack of proper programmes targeted at regions and families with relatively high mortality.
Expenditure reductions in developing countries revisited
Authors: Hicks Norman L.
Published: July 2007

During the 1980s, various factors have caused developing countries to reduce government expenditures in real terms. In many countries, rising debt service burdens have squeezed non‐debt service expenditures. This paper examines data for 24 developing countries, to see which kinds of expenditures were cut and which were protected. In general, it finds that capital expenditures were reduced more than current expenditures. Among the various sectors of government expenditure, the social sectors and defence were relatively protected, while the productive and infrastructure sectors bore a relatively larger burden of the adjustments.
Effects on agricultural supply of producer price level and stability with and without goods scarcity: The case of coffee supply in Madagascar
Authors: Guillaumont Patrick , Bonjean Catherine
Published: July 2007

This article examines several hypotheses related to influences on the supply of agricultural export products in developing countries. First, it considers the hypothesis that a scarcity of consumer incentive goods so reduces the elasticity of supply to real prices that it becomes negative. Next, it analyses various effects of real price instability on supply, effects that vary according to the availability of consumer goods. Finally, it considers the indirect influence of stabilization schemes on supply, through their effect on the average level of producer prices. The various hypotheses are then tested for the case of coffee supply in Madagascar during the period 1965‐84.
The beginning of the end for GSP, or just the end of the beginning?
Authors: Hewitt Adrian P.
Published: July 2007

GSP schemes are subject to review every decade. The European Community's scheme, one of the earliest and now covering trade worth ECU 16 billion, is now overdue for review, although bogged down in the 1992 process. The Commission's reform proposals are still inchoate but seem less ambitious than those proposed by OD1 a decade ago, even though so much in world trade has changed meanwhile. Principles underlying the new EC Guidelines are examined and contrasted with updated OD1 proposals. The case is made for a trade assistance package for the poorer developing countries as the new raison d'être for GSP. New guidelines for GSP beneficiaries based on graduation and differentiation are proposed. in contrast, the protectionist and product‐linked sentiments behind the EC proposals, and its use of GSP already as an instrument of political reward in drug economies and in reforming Eastern Europe, are seen as indications that there are pressures to disband GSP altogether. This would mark a return to selective preferences and intra‐bloc trading.
A longitudinal field study of group work redesig
Authors: Wall Toby D. , Clegg Chris. W.
Published: July 2007

The paper describes an action research project on group work redesign which involved blue‐collar employees in a confectionery company. A theoretical framework, derived from previous research on semi‐autonomous work groups and the Job Characteristics Model modified to apply to group working (Hackman, 1977), was used as a guide to diagnosis, redesign and evaluation. Hie findings, based on a short term evaluation after six months and a longer term evaluation after eighteen months, reveal that substantial increases in group autonomy and group work identity were achieved, and were followed, as predicted, by increased work motivation, performance, job satisfaction and mental health, as well as reduced labour turnover. Of particular interest to subsequent theoretical development is the sensitivity of mental health as an outcome variable, and the existence of differential rates of change in the dependent variables.
Role stress—a methodological trap?
Authors: Fineman Stephen , Payne Roy
Published: July 2007

This study explores the notion that many existing studies which show moderate relationships between role variables and stress symptoms are doing so because of the operational similarity of independent and dependent variables. It was predicted that the removal of such an artefact by clearly separating the two sets of variables would result in a nil relationship. Matched ‘cases’ and ‘controls’ were compared in two different organizations. The independent judgments of occupational health specialists were used to measure stress on a number of agreed dimensions, and role measurements were taken by the researchers in three different ways. On all comparisons made there was a strong trend suggesting no role/stress associations. The implications of the results for role stress studies are discussed.
Predicting employee satisfaction from congruency among individual need, job design, and system structure
Authors: Vecchio Robert P. , Keon Thomas L.
Published: July 2007

Theoretical models designed to predict employee affective reactions from congruency among individual growth need strength, job attributes, and organizational structure have suffered from imprecision in predictions (Porter et al., 1975; Nemiroff and Ford, 1976) or inconsistency in the application of integration rules (Pierce et al., 1979). The present study competitively tested predictions generated by a congruency‐weighted model with predictions generated by previous congruency models. For two data‐sets which manifested evidence of congruency interactions, the results indicated that a congruency‐weighted model was a superior predictor of job satisfaction relative to previous congruency models.
Stress among air traffic controllers: Occupational sources of coronary heart disease risk
Authors: Crump John H. , Cooper Cary L. , Maxwell Victor B.
Published: July 2007

This study attempts to assess the sources of occupational stress on air traffic controllers. It is based on data collected from a majority of air traffic controllers at a large U.K. airport. There are two unique methodological features described in this article. First, the use of the repertory grid technique as a method of generating work stressor variables, and second, the use of the multiple logistic equation as a coronary heart disease risk index.
Organizational commitment, career factors and career/life stage
Authors: Jans N. A.
Published: July 2007

A model of organizational commitment was developed using, as independent variables, factors associated with self, with family and with career. Australian military officers (males only) were used as the research population (N=13OO). All these factors were influential in explaining the variance in organizational commitment. Examination of the interplay of the independent variables across career/life stages gives insight into the dynamics of organizational commitment.
Methods of coping with stress at work: A conceptual analysis and empirical study of measurement issues
Authors: Dewe Philip J. , Guest David E.
Published: July 2007

The study of coping has assumed an increasingly central role in studies of work‐related stress. However the measurement of coping is poorly developed and is dominated by very general conceptual frameworks. The case for a descriptive classification of coping methods based on careful empirical work rather than pre‐determined conceptual frameworks is presented. The results of four studies of supervisors and administrators, nurses, teachers and church ministers are presented and compared. Principal components analysis of check‐lists developed specifically for each population revealed five forms of coping which emerged consistently across the studies. These components are rational task‐oriented behavior, emotional release, distraction, passive rationalization and social support. The limitations of existing conceptualizations and in particular the need to recognize the range and variety of palliative techniques are emphasized.
Threat perception and the readiness to participate in safety programs
Authors: Goldberg Albert I. , Dar‐El Ezey M. , Rubin Ami‐Hai E.
Published: July 2007

Reacting to a perception of threat, workers can become fatalistic or increase their readiness to participate in plant safety programs. A field study of 396 production workers at eight factories tested key relationships derivable from this assumption. Workers were found to be particularly sensitive to presumed personal jeopardy from existing safety hazards. These threat perceptions were tied to previous encounters with accidents and to training for a specific task. In contrast, occupational climates seen as supportive to safety efforts did not effect personal threat evaluations. Safety instruction and co‐worker support were established as complementary factors that moved workers toward an activist path of participation rather than a fatalistic acceptance of an existing situation. While relationships were primarily investigated on an individual level, special conditions at certain enterprises were found to influence worker willingness to become involved in safety endeavors.
From individual incentives to an organization‐wide gainsharing plan: Effects on teamwork and product quality
Authors: Hatcher Larry , Ross Timothy L.
Published: July 2007

Despite the widespread use of incentive systems in manufacturing organizations, few studies have used a standard, quasi‐experimental research design to directly compare the effects of different plans on employee perceptions and work outcomes. In this study, multiple methods were used to assess changes at a company which ended an individually‐oriented piecework plan and subsequently began a high‐involvement gainsharing plan. This piecework‐to‐gainsharing transition involved (a) terminating individual incentives, (b) paying plant‐wide bonuses for performance improvements, and (c) developing a highly structured ‘idea’ system which allowed employees limited participation in work decisions. Survey responses obtained two months before the transition and again 15 months later revealed improvements in perceptions of teamwork and concern for performance. Interrupted time series analysis of over four years of objective data showed a significant decrease in grievances and a significant increase in product quality occurring at the time of the intervention. Concerning the latter, defective products per 1000 shipped decreased from 20.93 under piecework to 2.31 under gainsharing. The results are discussed within the framework of Deutsch's (1949a) theory of cooperation and competition.
Effectiveness of creativity training and its relation to selected personality factors
Authors: Kabanoff Boris , Bottger Preston
Published: July 2007

This exploratory study assesses the effectiveness of the Creative Problem Solving Program (Parnes, Noller and Biondi, 1977) for increasing the ideational fluency, flexibility and originality of trainees in a Master of Business Administration program. Pre‐ and post‐training performances of trainees (N = 32) on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (verbal) are compared with a control group of MBA students (N = 44). Compared to the control group, trainees demonstrate significant gains in originality. While both groups show an improvement in fluency. Trainees with high preferences for achievement and dominance but low preference for deference are less likely than average to self‐select for creativity training. Performance in a creativity project is positively related to preference for autonomy and creative ability, and negatively related to preference for achievement. Implications of these findings for the effectiveness of creativity training and the attitudes and performance of high need achievers are discussed. Finally, we discuss issues in the generalization and transfer of training to non‐training domains.
Fairness and implied contract obligations in job terminations: The role of contributions, promises, and performance
Authors: Rousseau Denise M. , Anton Ronald J.
Published: July 2007

Using the methodology of policy capturing, this research identifies the role that performance, time on the job, commitment of long‐term employment and employability play in judgment of termination fairness and employer obligations. Previous research (Rousseau and Anton, 1988) found that seniority and past commitments of long‐term employment contributed significantly to judgments of termination fairness and obligation. The present study considered these variables along with performance (past, present and future potential) using 116 participants in human resource management courses. Results indicated that present performance, time on the job, and commitments affect judgments regarding termination fairness and obligation. Past and future performance, however, had no impact on these judgments. Implications of the findings for understanding employer and employee obligations are discussed.
Correlates of career‐oriented mentoring for early career managers and professionals
Authors: Whitely William , Dougherty Thomas W. , Dreher George F.
Published: July 2007

This study examines several different kinds of correlates of career‐oriented mentoring experiences among early career managers and professionals. Survey data were collected from 416 respondents employed in a wide variety of jobs, organizations, and industries. The respondents averaged 30 years of age, and 28 per cent were women. Results indicated that younger, more work‐involved respondents from higher socioeconomic origins received more career‐oriented mentoring. In addition, managers received more mentoring than professionals, as did those who were higher in the organization hierarchy. While gender of the protégé was unrelated to the amount of career mentoring received, reasons are offered for this result. Various boundary conditions likely to affect mentoring processes are discussed and several directions are recommended for future research on mentoring.
Performance dimension accessibility: Implications for rating accuracy
Authors: Woehr David J.
Published: July 2007

Recent models of evaluative information processing suggest that individuals will form differentiated dimensional judgments only if a differentiated set of categories or dimensions is accessible as behavior is observed. If, however, a differentiated set of dimensions is not accessible, individuals will form a more general global evaluation. Subsequent dimensional evaluations will be driven by this ‘overall ’evaluation. The present study supports this and indicates that dimensional performance evaluations will be more accurate if the performance appraisal dimensions are accessible to individual raters. This study demonstrates the importance of the accessibility of dimensions for accurate dimensional performance evaluations.
Disentangling the relationship between the achievement striving and impatience—irritability dimensions of type A behavior, performance and health
Authors: Barling Julian , Charbonneau Danielle
Published: July 2007

This study was conducted to replicate and extend previous findings that two independent dimensions of type A behavior, namely Impatience—Irritability (II) and Achievement Striving (AS), differentially predict health and performance. One hundred and thirteen university students provided their grade point average and completed questionnaires to measure II, AS and several health measures. They also performed a five‐minute proof‐reading task which yielded a behavioral measure of attention and concentration. As predicted, after partialling out the effects of II, AS predicted GPA and proof‐reading performance, but not health. After controlling for age and AS, II predicted headaches and sleep habits, but neither respiratory infections nor digestive problems. Implications for the differential prediction of health and performance by AS and II, and interventions designed to decrease risk from type A behavior by reducing II but not AS, are discussed.
The dimensions of organizational commitment
Authors: Bar‐Hayim Aviad , Berman Gerald S.
Published: July 2007

The dimensionality of the concept organizational commitment, formulated by Porter, Steers, Mowday and Boulian in 1974 and later by Cook and Wall in 1980, is explored by metric and non‐metric methods among industrial workers in Israel. A distinction is established between loyalty to the employing organization and identification with and readiness to exert effort on its behalf. This is a distinction between passive and active organizational commitment, hidden in the original additive scales, that could prove useful in understanding the behavior of different populations of industrial workers.
Efficacy beliefs and work stress: An exploratory study
Authors: Jex Steve M. , Gudanowski David M.
Published: July 2007

This study investigated the possible role of self‐efficacy in the stress process by examining relations between stressors (role ambiguity, situational constraints, and hours), strains (job dissatisfaction, anxiety, frustration, and turnover intent), and efficacy beliefs (both individual and collective). Individual efficacy was related to only two of the four strains and had no mediating or moderating effects. Collective efficacy, however, was strongly related to both stressors and strains. Collective efficacy also moderated the effect of work hours and mediated the relation between situational constraints and two of the strain measures. It was concluded that the theory of individual self‐efficacy (Bandura, 1977) may not adequately explain collective efficacy. Future research on the self‐efficacy construct as well as its role in the stress process was suggested.
Dual earner couples: Attitudes and actions in restructuring work for family
Authors: Karambayya Rekha , Reilly Anne H.
Published: July 2007

In a matched data set consisting of survey responses from both members of 39 dual earner couples, work and family involvement was used to predict job satisfaction, marital satisfaction, stress and work restructuring of both members of the couple. In general, the wives were found to be restructuring their work activities more than their husbands. Couples whose members had high levels of family involvement were experiencing high levels of marital satisfaction and low levels of stress. In addition, the coded responses to seven open ended questions provided qualitative data reflecting what specific types of work restructuring arrangements were most popular and the reasons for work restructuring.
Pulling up roots in the 1990s: Who's willing to relocate?
Authors: Brett Jeanne M. , Stroh Linda K. , Reilly Anne H.
Published: July 2007

The purpose of this study was to develop a profile of employees in Fortune 500 companies who are willing to relocate. The profile was developed on a demographically diverse random sample of 827 employees from 20 Fortune 500 corporations, all of whom had moved at least once for their current employer. Employees who were most willing to relocate were younger, their incomes were lower, their career ambitions higher, and their spouses more willing than those who were less willing to relocate. These employees could be found in sales/marketing and production functions. Their attitudes toward moving were also favorable. The single most important predictor of willingness to relocate was spouse willingness to relocate. This result suggests strongly that in the 1990s, corporations are going to have to address the concerns of spouses, if married employees are going to remain mobile. The study also cautions corporations about the shortsightedness of thinking of spouse and dual career issues as ’women's issues‘ and assuming that females and minorities are unwilling to relocate.
Assessing diversity climate: A field study of reactions to employer efforts to promote diversity
Authors: Kossek Ellen Ernst , Zonia Susan C.
Published: July 2007

Based on intergroup theory, this study examined relationships among group characteristics (racioethnicity, gender, and level), contextual organizational unit characteristics (gender and racioethnic heterogeneity, resource support for women and racioethnic minorities) and perceptions of diversity climate by faculty at a large university. Compared to white men, white women and racioethnic minorities placed greater value on employer efforts to promote diversity, and held more favorable attitudes about the qualifications of women and racioethnic minorities. The study found that group rather than contextual organizational unit characteristics were more strongly related to diversity climate. However, the organizational unit characteristic, gender heterogeneity, was significantly related to valuing diversity. The greater the ratio of women in a unit, regardless of the respondents' gender, racioethnicity or level, the more favorable diversity activities were viewed. In addition, units whose allocation of resources to racioethnic minorities were perceived as insufficient by respondents were more likely to have members who valued diversity and held favorable perceptions toward the qualifications of racioethnic minorities. Implications for organizations and future research are offered.
Self‐appraisal and perceptions of the appraisal discussion: A field experiment
Authors: Roberson Loriann , Torkel Steven , Korsgaard Audrey , Klein Doug , Diddams Margaret , Cayer Maurice
Published: July 2007

Performance evaluation based on self‐appraisal has been widely advocated because of its potential for increasing the effectiveness of the performance appraisal discussion. A field experiment was conducted to assess the effects of a formal ’both‐rate‘ self appraisal (where both manager and subordinate independently complete appraisals before the discussion) on perceptions of ratee and rater behaviors and outcomes. One hundred fifty‐one ratees and 81 raters randomly assigned to self‐appraisal and control groups participated in the study. Results indicated that the self‐appraisal treatment had no main effects on ratee perceptions of their contributions to the discussion or satisfaction with the appraisal. Self‐appraising ratees perceived less influence over the appraisal discussion, and less agreement with their manager's rating than did non‐self appraisers. However, informal self‐appraisal behavior was significantly and positively correlated with most dependent variables. Results suggest major differences between formal and informal self‐appraisal which warrant future research.
A refutation of Karasek's demand – discretion model of occupational stress with a range of dependent measures
Authors: Fletcher Ben (C.) , Jones Fiona
Published: July 2007

Karasek's (1979) demand–discretion model of occupational stress has been highly influential but has been criticized as confounding social class variables (Payne and Fletcher, 1983), ignoring the curvilinearity of relationships (Warr, 1991), and because it has inconsistently predicted heart disease (Ganster and Fusilier, 1989). The present study examines the ability of the model to predict raised blood pressure (a risk factor in the development of CHD), anxiety, depression, job and life satisfaction, in a large heterogeneous sample of over 3000 people. It examines the predictability of the model for men and women, taking occupational classification (manual and non‐manual workers) into account, to allow some control over social class confounding. It also examines nonlinear relationships in the data.

The study showed that demands and discretion do separately predict psychological strain, job and life satisfaction, though they account for a very small percentage of the variance. There was no evidence of interactive effects which are central to the model. Where the model was able to predict blood pressure, relationships were consistently in the opposite direction to that hypothesized. There was also little evidence of curvilinear relationships. Interpersonal support was found to add significantly to the predictability of the dependent variables. The findings cast doubt on Karasek's model and suggest that emphasis should be shifted to those models which are more encompassing of support factors.
Individual characteristics, work perceptions, and affective reactions influences on differentiated absence criteria
Authors: Kohler Stacey S. , Mathieu John E.
Published: July 2007

The present study provides support for the utility of studying absence as a multi‐dimensional criterion. Survey responses were collected from 194 bus drivers and paired with categorized archival absences. Seven absence indices were created and linked with three categories of predictors: (1) affective reactions to the work environment; (2) work‐related perceptions; and (3) individual resource characteristis. The relationships between the multiple absence criteria and the three sets of predictors were examined both separately and combined using part canonical, and canonical correlation analyses. Affective responses fully mediated the influence of work perceptions on absence, and partially mediated the influence of individual resource variables. Redundancy coefficients and a rotated structure matrix were employed to identify two significant dimensions labeled, nonwork obligations and stress reactions, that linked the combined predictor sets with the set of absence measures. Together these dimensions accounted for 15 per cent of the variance in absence, with predictors differing in their explanatory power. Implications for the management of employee absence programs were discussed.
Organizational and population level learning as engines for career transitions
Authors: Miner Anne S. , Robinson David F.
Published: July 2007

Building inductively on twenty‐four in depth interviews, the authors argue that boundaryless organizations will alter both career theories and actual career mobility patterns. The paper illustrates how both organizational and population level learning can affect individual job transitions within and cross organizations. The three evolutionary learning steps of variation, selection and retention all remain important, but the impact of variation processes may increase. Boundaryless organizations will thus generate career patterns reflecting an underlying logic of organizational learning rather than producing simple atomistic exchange between unfettered actors.
Burnout in child protective service workers: A longitudinal study
Authors: Savicki Victor , Cooley Eric J.
Published: July 2007

Child protective service (CPS) workers experience working conditions that lead to burnout. Although theorists describe burnout as a phenomenon that develops over time, few studies have taken a longitudinal approach to describe its course. To test the hypotheses that (a) burnout remains the same across time, and that (b) environmental conditions are related to change in burnout, 64 CPS workers were followed over an average 18‐month period. All scales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory showed significantly increased burnout. Environmental factors measured by the Work Environment Scale and a Work Hassles scale significantly related to change in burnout with initial levels of burnout controlled (emotional exhaustion R2 = 0.465, depersonalization R2 = 0.432, personal accomplishment R2 = 0.431). Several methodological difficulties in previous longitudinal burnout studies were avoided: namely, only one type of job was used, all subjects remained in the same job across the follow‐up, and subjects were new to the position at the beginning of the study. Developmental models of Leiter and Maslach (1988) and Golembiewski and Munzenrider (1988) were discussed given the methodological issues raised and the results of the current study. The relation of environmental factors to changes in burnout are consistent with previous, non‐quantitative descriptions of the CPS job.
Innovations and personal change: Patterns of adjustment to relocation
Authors: Munton Anthony G. , West Michael A.
Published: July 2007

The aim of the study was to test hypotheses derived from Nicholson's (1984) theory of work‐role transitions within the context of job relocation. These hypotheses concern the adjustment strategies used by those changing jobs. A total of 121 U.K. employees provided data at three points in time during the process of their relocation. Measures included job characteristics, personal change, role innovation, self‐esteem and subjective well‐being. Data were analysed via non‐recursive structural equation models using LISREL VI. Results were generally consistent with the model of work‐role transitions. Individual differences in self‐esteem were found to influence adjustment strategies over and above the effects of job characteristics.