Economic Utility of Training Programs

In economic terms, training projects represent a major outlay for many corporations. In spite of the growing need to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of training programs in organizations, such cost-benefit analyses are rarely conducted. Moreover, the extant conceptual approaches and mathematical formulas typically used for this purpose produce inaccurate estimates of the economic utility of training programs for organizations.An amended approach to this procedure is elaborated and its benefits demonstrated. The proposed model regards any potential plan as an investment project that should be evaluated in a similar way to the assessment of other investment options. Thus, it is recommended that a training project be considered only if its potential real, post-tax rate of return exceeds the real, post-tax cost of capital to the firm, subject to the unique features of investment in human capital. This process could improve the potential financial benefits to the firm, from investment in training.     

Let Go or Retain? A Comparative Study of the Attitudes of Business Students and Managers About the Retirement of Older Workers

This study's central research question is: “How do managers evaluate the desirability of early retirement of their employees, and under what circumstances and for what types of workers are they in favor of delay?” We sought to compare managers' and business students' decision making regarding older workers. We examined the extent to which student samples are appropriate to study organizational behavior. An identical factorial survey was carried out among 26 managers and 25 business school students. The results revealed that business students concentrate on performance‐related individual characteristics when making selection decisions, whereas managers also recognize contextual factors (need for downsizing, tight labor market) and older workers' attitudes toward retirement.     

Boundary Conditions of the High‐Investment Human Resource Systems‐Small‐Firm Labor Productivity Relationship

Although a few published, multiindustry, firm‐level, empirical studies have linked systems of high‐investment or high‐performance human resource management practices to enhanced small‐firm performance, this stream of strategic human resource management research is underdeveloped and equivocal. Accordingly, in this study, we use a sample of for‐profit, private‐sector, small Canadian firms with fewer than 100 employees from a variety of industry sectors to examine boundary conditions of the relationship between firm‐level high‐investment human resource systems and objective small‐firm labor productivity. Congruent with contingency theory, this study's results indicate that the extent and nature of the influence of high‐investment human resource systems on objective small‐firm labor productivity is contingent on internal (differentiation strategy and firm capital intensity) and external boundary conditions (industry dynamism and industry growth). Implications and limitations of this research study as well as avenues for future research are discussed.     

Prospect Theory Predictions When Escalation Is Not the Only Chance to Recover Sunk Costs

Two experiments tested the effect of risk of alternative investment opportunities on decision behavior in an escalation context. In the first experiment (n = 170), the risk of the reinvestment option, which had been unsuccessful and incurred a sunk cost, was held equal to that of an alternative investment project. Responsibility for the previous decision was manipulated between these subjects. Subjects were required to choose between the reinvestment option and the alternative. Responsible subjects demonstrated classic reinvestment (escalation) tendencies, and nonresponsible subjects exhibited a significant tendency to avoid reinvestment. Subjects in the second experiment (n = 195) completed the same decision task and were also assigned to high and low responsibility conditions. In this experiment the risk of investing further in a previously chosen project, relative to the risk of the alternative project, was manipulated. Those subjects who were responsible for the first decision (a) demonstrated no preference for or against continued pursuit of the initial project (i.e., there was no escalation tendency) and (b) preferred the less risky of the second investments, regardless of whether it was or was not the initially chosen project. Nonresponsible subjects showed no risk preference or proclivity for reinvestment. The results of these experiments suggest that salient information concerning relative risk dominates the effect of prior performance information when alternative investments are considered. We discuss the implications of these findings for decision theory and for methodology in commitment escalation research.     

The Consequences of Completion: How Level of Completion Influences Information Concealment by Decision Makers

Numerous studies have demonstrated that decision makers will allocate additional resources to failing projects if those projects are close to completion, as opposed to far from completion. The present work considers whether high project completion leads to other effects; namely, decision‐maker willingness to conceal negative information about a project. Three studies (1 at the group level, 2 at the individual level; 1 using qualitative data, 2 using quantitative data) established a link between project completion, incremental investment behavior, and the tendency to conceal negative information.     

Effort Invested in Vain: The Impact of Effort on the Intensity of Disappointment and Regret

Two scenario studies investigated the impact of the investment of instrumental and noninstrumental effort on the intensity of disappointment and regret. The role of effort was investigated in the context of other determinants of disappointment and regret: the desirability of the outcome, its likelihood, and the perceived responsibility for (not) obtaining the outcome. Study 1 shows that after failure, disappointment is more intense after an investment of higher levels of instrumental effort, whereas regret is more intense an investment of less instrumental effort. Study 2 shows that both disappointment and regret are more intense after an investment of higher levels of noninstrumental effort. Further analyses suggest that the effect of instrumental effort on disappointment is due to a direct effect of the investment of effort. The effect of instrumental effort on disappointment was mediated by the perceived likelihood of attaining the outcome and also related to the perceived desirability of the outcome. The impact of instrumental effort on regret was found to be due to a direct effect of the investment of effort, and to the perceived responsibility for not attaining the outcome. The effect of the investment of noninstrumental effort on the intensity of both disappointment and regret was found to be due to a direct effect of effort. Desirability also affected disappointment (with increased desirability leading to higher levels of disappointment), whereas only regret was affected by perceived responsibility. Implications of these findings for the study of disappointment and regret are discussed.     

Aging “Hot”: Images and Narratives of Sexual Desirability on Television

As women age, their sexual desirability is likely to diverge from what is presented as most coveted in American society: youthful, slim but curvy, firm, and fit. Media rarely feature actresses over the age of 50 as leading characters and when they do, they are usually relegated to caretaker or partner roles and they usually conform to gender traditional stereotypes. However, more recently, there have been a few television programs that focus specifically on older women’s sexualities and feature plotlines that center on their desire and desirability. The premise of the program Hot in Cleveland is that desirability is in the eye of the beholder. Using a comedic format, the show highlights the tensions between media and celebrity fueled standards for desirability and “real life” desirability. In this paper, based on a close analysis of five seasons of Hot in Cleveland, we explore these competing messages about midlife and older women’s appearance and sexualities and the way comic framing both challenges and reinforces dominant narratives of aging.     

The effect of arbitration program characteristics on applicants' intentions toward potential employers

The authors examined intentions toward prospective employers with different alternative dispute resolution (ADR) policies and no ADR policy. In Study 1, students (N = 124) were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions in which 2 variables, arbitration policy presence or absence and firm desirability, were manipulated. The presence of a voluntary, nonbinding arbitration policy had no impact on intentions and did not interact with firm desirability. In Study 2, students (N = 273) were randomly assigned to 1 of 8 conditions (mandatory vs. voluntary arbitration, binding vs. nonbinding arbitration, and highly desirable vs. less desirable employer). Both mandatory and binding arbitration policies were related to less favorable intentions toward firms. Predictions regarding the interaction of ADR policy and firm desirability were partially supported. Some support was found for the interaction between ADR policy and ethnicity.     

Downsizing: Case Study of a Career in Crisis

Downsizing is a major concern in American industry today. Although much has been written about the effects of downsizing on corporations, little has been said about its effect on individuals. This case presents downsizing from one individual's perspective and suggests strategies and procedures for reducing the negative effect of downsizing on employees. Strategies and procedures that firms can adopt to make downsizing programs effective include planning in advance, developing effective communications, centralizing decision making, and educating personnel specialists and managers.     

Out of Control: Visceral Influences on Behavior

Understanding discrepancies between behavior and perceived self-interest has been one of the major, but largely untackled, theoretical challenges confronting decision theory from its infancy to the present. People often act against their self-interest in full knowledge that they are doing so; they experience a feeling of being “out of control.” This paper attributes this phenomenon to the operation of “visceral factors,” which include drive states such as hunger, thirst and sexual desire, moods and emotions, physical pain, and craving for a drug one is addicted to. The defining characteristics of visceral factors are, first, a direct hedonic impact (which is usually negative), and second, an effect on the relative desirability of different goods and actions. The largely aversive experience of hunger, for example, affects the desirability of eating, but also of other activities such as sex. Likewise, fear and pain are both aversive, and both increase the desirability of withdrawal behaviors. The visceral factor perspective has two central premises: First, immediately experienced visceral factors have a disproportionate effect on behavior and tend to “crowd out” virtually all goals other than that of mitigating the visceral factor. Second, people underweigh, or even ignore, visceral factors that they will experience in the future, have experienced in the past, or that are experienced by other people. The paper details these two assumptions, then shows how they can help to explain a wide range of phenomena: impulsivity and self-control, drug addiction, various anomalies concerning sexual behavior, the effect of vividness on decision making, and certain phenomena relating to motivation and action.     

货币幻觉的心理机制与影响因素

货币幻觉是指经济交易活动中,人们因倾向于以货币的名义价值而非实际价值思考而对其消费和投资行为造成影响的一种认知偏差。大量研究表明,货币幻觉普遍存在于房地产投资、股票投资、组织管理以及捐赠等领域中。目前,研究者主要从决策框架、锚定与调整启发式、数目启发式以及神经心理机制这四个方面解释货币幻觉的形成机制。研究发现,货币幻觉的影响因素有心境、货币兑换率、通货膨胀率、情感依恋和先前经验。未来的研究可以从深入探讨货币幻觉的心理机制、影响因素和探索货币幻觉的应对策略这三个方面展开。     

The Effect of Individual Difference Variables on Information Sharing in Decision‐Making Groups

We examined need for cognition, social desirability, and communication apprehension for their influence on the mention and repetition of shared and unshared information in 8‐person decision‐making groups. Both need for cognition and social desirability influenced the discussion of shared and unshared information in decision‐making groups. The findings indicate that increasing motivation to participate in group discussions may not help overcome the bias favoring shared over unshared information. Additionally, there are indications that social desirability increases the repetition of shared information. This finding is consistent with the idea of mutual enhancement (i.e., the idea that group members discuss shared information because it enhances their position with other group members).     

When Job Candidates Are “Hard-” Versus “Easy-to-Get”: Effects of Candidate Availability on Employment Decisions1

Research on interpersonal attraction suggests that being elusive or “playing hard-to-get” is effective for increasing one's desirability and the likelihood of being selected as a dating partner. The following two studies explored the effects of this hard-to-get phenomenon in an employment decision setting. Both college students (Experiment 1) and professional recruiters (Experiment 2) reviewed application materials that conveyed that a candidate was either hard- (e. g., considering other job opportunities) or easy-to-get (e. g., not considering other opportunities) and then indicated their evaluations of these candidates. In both studies, being hard-to-get affected the interviewers’ judgments. However, this effect was moderated by the type of rationale given for being hard- or easy-to-get, as well as the objective qualifications (GPA) information. In addition, recruiter sex and candidate gender differences were explored. Male recruiters’ evaluations of application materials were more lenient than were females’ evaluations.     

Star Performers in Twenty‐First Century Organizations

We argue that changes in the nature of work in 21st‐century organizations have led to the emergence of star performers—a few individuals who contribute a disproportionate amount of output. We describe how stars negate the long‐held belief that the distribution of individual performance is normal and, instead, suggest an underlying power law distribution. In addition, we offer 9 propositions to guide future empirical research on star performers and an underlying power law distribution of individual performance. We describe how the presence of stars is likely to affect all individual‐, team‐, and firm‐level management theories addressing individual performance directly or indirectly, but focus on specific implications for those addressing human capital, turnover, compensation, downsizing, leadership, teamwork, corporate entrepreneurship, and microfoundations of strategy. In addition, we discuss methodological considerations necessary to carry out our proposed research agenda. Finally, we discuss how a consideration of star performers has important implications for management practice.     

Does Education Influence Ethical Decisions? An International Study

This study examined whether having attended a public, private or religious affiliated grade and/or high school influenced a college student’s ethical decision making process. We also examined whether having taken an ethics course in college influences a student’s ethical decision making process. Our sample included 508 accounting students (237 men and 271 women) from Albania, Ecuador, Ireland and the United States. Our analyses indicated no differences in ethical decision making that associated with either grade-or-high-school education. While our data showed no difference in the reported attitudes between students from Ecuador and the United States after controlling for social desirability response bias, we found significant differences between the attitudes students from the United States and students from both Albania and Ireland. While gender was also significant for six of our seven scenarios, social desirability response bias was significant in all of our scenarios.     

Social desirability, approval and public good contribution

Behaviour in public good experiments is usually attributed partly to rational self-interest and partly to social norms and preferences. This paper examines if sensitivity to social desirability affects public good contribution and in what way. A pre-experimental measure of social desirability (SDS17) was used to match partners in a two-person public good game. Half the participants received experimenter approval based upon their investment. Contrary to predictions, the highest public good investment was by low social desirability participants in the approval condition. Social desirability was not positively related to pro-social behaviour. We consider its relation to experimental and social conformity.     

The Gender Gap on Wall Street: An Empirical Analysis of Confidence in Investment Decision Making

We attempted to identify the personal characteristics that influence confidence in an investment decision in an experiment administered to 1,359 subjects nationwide. Multiple regression was used to control statistically for variation among subjects and to develop a model of investment decision confidence. The most striking finding was that women had significantly lower confidence in an investment task than men, after controlling for all other relevant variables and characteristics including the amount of the investment decision itself. Familiarity with and present attitude about investing in the stock market, college credit hours in accounting and finance, experience in evaluating common stocks, the current level of the stock market, and the investment decision itself (the amount to be invested) were also found to be significant. Age, value of personal portfolio, years of college, and years of business experience were not significant characteristics.     

Relationships between Growth need Strength and selected individual differences measures employed in job design research

The present study examines the degree to which the Growth Need Strength scales (Job Choice and Would Like formats) of the Job Diagnostic Survey (Hackman & Oldham, Journal of Applied Psychology, 1975, 60, 159–170) correlate with (a) other measures of needs and values employed in research as moderators of the job scope-job satisfaction relationship and (b) a measure of social desirability. Results showed (a) only moderate correlations between the Growth Need Strength scales and the other measures of needs and values and (b) a relatively high degree of correlation between social desirability and the Would Like measure of Growth Need Strength. Implications of these findings for job design research are considered.     

解释水平视角下的自己-他人决策差异

研究基于解释水平理论, 考察自己决策和为他人提供建议是否存在认知和偏好上的差异。实验一采用2(自己决策/为他人建议)×2(价值：高/低)×2(可行性：高/低)被试间设计, 165名被试代表自己或他人评价选项的吸引力。实验二采用3×2混合设计, 81名被试代表自己、相似或不相似他人, 为“高价值-低可行”和“低价值-高可行”两选项出价。结果支持了“自己-他人决策差异”：自己决策比为他人提建议在更大程度上受可行性高低的影响, 更为偏爱可行性高的选项; 人际相似性能在一定程度上缩小上述差异。