THE SOUNDNESS OF SUPERVISORY RATINGS AS PREDICTORS OF MANAGERIAL SUCCESS

A model of career development is presented. Using this model, three types of validity, empirical, content, and construct, are considered for supervisors' rating of non-managers as a predictor of success as managers. As denned in the Uniform Guidelines and the professional literature, all three are inapplicable to this prediction situation. Characteristics of a sound rating system are suggested.     

THE WARTEGG DRAWING COMPLETION TEST AS A PREDICTOR OFADJUSTMENT AND SUCCESS IN INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL

Mellberg K. The Wartegg Drawing Completion Test as a predictor of adjustment and success in industrial school. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1972, 13 , 34–38.—The WDCT, a projective personality test, was administered to 284 elementary-school boys when they were seeking entry to the industrial school. Two years later, their school performance and teacher-rated adjustment were recorded. The validity of the prediction from the WDCT relative to these criteria was tested on the basis of analytical and intuitive interpretations of the WDCT. The analytical interpretations showed only slight predictive validity. Even intuitive interpretations had a low validity. In the intuitive interpretations trained psychologists used only 4 of 53 analytical WDCT-variables.     

CANDIDATE VALENCE AS A PREDICTOR OF VOTER PREFERENCE

The effects of source valence, including its components source credibility, attraction, and homophily, on voter preference were examined in this study. A systematic sample with a random start of 350 registered Democratic voters in Tallahassee, Florida, was used to test the effects of eight dimensions of source valence on voter preference. The differential valence of the two candidates was the best predictor of voter preference. The eight-variable model accounted for 61% of the variance in voter preference, while attitude homophily alone accounted for 58% of that variance.     

PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF SUBORDINATE RATINGS OF MANAGERIAL PERFORMANCE

The purpose of the present study was to compare the psychometric properties of subordinate ratings of managerial performance to those of supervisor and self ratings. Subordinate ratings (n = 365), self-ratings (n = 80) and supervisor ratings ( n = 80) were obtained on eight performance dimensions for middle level managers in a multinational corporation. Multitrait-multimethod analysis of variance indicated significant effects for convergent validity, halo error, and discriminant validity. Comparisons between rating sources indicated that subordinate ratings are more similar to supervisor ratings than to self ratings in terms of convergent validity and leniency effect. A comparison of the present results to other studies indicated less convergent validity, more discriminant validity, and less halo error than found by others.     

INVOLVEMENT IN COMMUNICATION NETWORKS AS A PREDICTOR OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT

This study examines the relationship between involvement in a job-related communication network and organizational commitment. The findings indicate a complex relationship that is moderated by the degree of job involvement. For employees who are not involved in their jobs, involvement in the job-related communication network functions to foster commitment to the organization. Two major conclusions are drawn: (1) the impact of involvement in communication networks on employee attitudes and behaviors may occur only for individuals with certain characteristics; and (2) previous studies that have reported main effects for individual variables on organizational commitment may need reinterpretation in light of the disordinal interaction obtained here. The possibility that different commitment processes operate for different kinds of employees is explored, with special emphasis on those employees for whom communication is a potent factor in determining attitudes. Implications for future research on the relationship between communication network involvement and other employee responses are discussed.     

COMPARISONS OF MANAGERIAL AND EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION WITH A PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SYSTEM

Questionnaires were administered to managers and employees in a large multinational corporation to assess satisfaction with various aspects of a performance appraisal system. Comparisons of managers' and employees' satisfaction were made by conducting factor analyses for each sample. The results indicate moderate similarity between the two groups. However, two significant differences were revealed by the analysis. First, there is evidence that employees perceive certain aspects of the appraisal system in a global way, whereas managers differentiate among various components and see them as distinct entities. Second, the relative importance of the factors differs between the two groups. The largest portion of variance accounted for in the employee sample pertained to general satisfaction with the system whereas for managers it pertained to the types of ratings made on the appraisal form. The results are discussed in terms of the different perspectives managers and employees have in the appraisal process.