WHO APPRECIATES FAMILY-RESPONSIVE HUMAN RESOURCE POLICIES: THE IMPACT OF FAMILY-FRIENDLY POLICIES ON THE ORGANIZATIONAL ATTACHMENT OF PARENTS AND NON-PARENTS

The 1991 General Social Survey of 745 randomly selected workers in the United States assessed the impact of family-responsive human resource policies, such as parental leave, flexible schedules, and child care assistance on organizational attachment. Employees who had access to family-responsive policies showed significantly greater organizational committment and expressed significantly lower intention to quit their jobs. Additionally, child care information referral had a greater impact on affective commitment among employees eligible for that benefit. The data supported the theory that offering assistance to employees in need symbolizes concern for employees and positively influences attachment to the organization. The contrasting theoretical explanation–that people are more attached to companies when they individually benefit from progressive human resource policies–received considerably less support. The practical implication of the study for human resource management professionals is that providing comprehensive family-friendly policies may have a positive impact beyond the individual employees who tap these benefits.     

THE IMPACT OF HUMAN RESOURCE AND OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON COMPANY PRODUCTIVITY: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY

Within the strategic human resource management (SHRM) perspective, psychology‐based practices, especially empowerment, extensive training, and teamwork, are seen as vital to sustained competitive advantage. Other approaches, such as those of integrated manufacturing and lean production, place greater emphasis on operational initiatives such as total quality management, just‐in‐time, advanced manufacturing technology, and supply‐chain partnering as determinants of organizational performance. We investigated the relative merits of these practices through a study of the productivity of 308 companies over 22 years, during which time they implemented some or all of these 7 practices. Consistent with SHRM theory we found performance benefits from empowerment and extensive training, with the adoption of teamwork serving to enhance both. In contrast, none of the operational practices were directly related to productivity nor did they interact with other practices in ways fully consistent with the notions of integrated manufacturing or lean production.     

THE IMPACT OF ORGANIZATIONAL TRAINING LABORATORIES UPON THE EFFECTIVENESS AND INTERACTION OF ONGOING WORK GROUPS

The impact upon four work groups (N= 31) which participated in organizational training laboratory sessions is evaluated in comparison with eight similar groups (N= 60) which did not participate. Criteria were six-factored dimensions, each composed of items gathered from earlier interviews which group members perceived as problems. Significant changes occurred in training groups in the following three dimensions: group effectiveness, mutual influence, and personal involvement. No significant changes occurred in leader approachability, intragroup trust, or in the evaluation of group meetings. The relevance of a work unit participating in training as a total group, rather than each member participating in a separate session, is discussed.     

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF TEST VALIDITY AND BIAS ON SELECTION ERRORS AND ADVERSE IMPACT IN HUMAN RESOURCE SELECTION

We propose an integrative framework for understanding the relationship among 4 closely related issues in human resource (HR) selection: test validity, test bias, selection errors, and adverse impact. One byproduct of our integrative approach is the concept of a previously undocumented source of selection errors we call bias‐based selection errors (i.e., errors that arise from using a biased test as if it were unbiased). Our integrative framework provides researchers and practitioners with a unique tool that generates numerical answers to questions such as the following: What are the anticipated consequences for bias‐based selection errors of various degrees of test validity and test bias? What are the anticipated consequences for adverse impact of various degrees of test validity and test bias? From a theory point of view, our framework provides a more complete picture of the selection process by integrating 4 key concepts that have not been examined simultaneously thus far. From a practical point of view, our framework provides test developers, employers, and policy makers a broader perspective and new insights regarding practical consequences associated with various selection systems that vary on their degree of validity and bias. We present a computer program available online to perform all needed calculations.     

中国企业中员工创新能力与创新绩效的关系:以组织创新气氛为调节变量

运用结构方程建模技术中的无约束估价法,对来自10家企业413名员工的数据进行调节效应模型的检验。探讨了中国企业中员工创新能力对创新绩效的影响,以及组织创新气氛在其中的调节作用。结果发现:员工的创新能力对其创新意愿和创新结果具有显著的正向影响;在创新能力水平一定的情况下,创新意愿、行动和结果的水平随着组织创新气氛的提升而有所增强。该结果表明组织创新气氛显著调节着员工创新能力对创新绩效的影响。     

企业员工自我职业生涯管理的影响因素

通过问卷研究方法,研究了影响企业员工自我职业生涯管理的组织及个人心理因素,其中组织因素主要是组织开展的职业生涯管理,个人心理因素主要是掌握动机、超越动机和一般自我效能感。先通过对13家企业的449名被试的研究,确立了研究所使用的相关问卷的项目和信度、效度。然后再通过对11家企业所搜集的399份有效问卷的分析,结果表明：组织和个人心理因素均对自我职业生涯管理有积极的影响,特别是组织职业生涯管理和超越动机影响力比较大     

EFFECTS OF ADVERTISED HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON ATTRACTION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN APPLICANTS

Student members of a national organization of African American engineers ( n = 1019) and currently employed African American engineers ( n = 303) responded to a hypothetical job advertisement differing by staffing policy (identity-blind vs. identity-conscious), advertised work characteristics (i.e., individual-based vs. team-based), and compensation system characteristics (pay based on individual performance vs. pay based on work-group performance). Both groups of respondents reported being more likely to apply when the staffing policy was identity conscious (i.e., affirmative action) than when it was identity blind (i.e., equal-employment opportunity). However, only the student sample reported being more likely to apply when the advertisement described team-based work instead of individual-based work. Both groups reacted negatively to the combination of individual-based work and group-performance based pay systems.     

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT, EFFICACY, AND PERFORMANCE IN ORGANIZATIONAL TEAMS

The study empirically links conflict management literature with research on efficacy and organizational teams. Sixty-one self-managing teams with 489 employees were recruited from the production department of a leading electronic manufacturer. Structural equation analysis supports the model that a cooperative instead of competitive approach to conflict leads to conflict efficacy that in turn results in effective performance as measured by managers. Findings suggest how organizational teams can be prepared to make use of their autonomy to deal with problems and conflicts so that they are productive.     

目标取向和工作经验对绩效的效应

通过两个样本调查,对目标取向和工作经验量表进行了结构检验,并探讨了目标取向和工作经验对个体绩效的效应模式。结果表明：学习目标取向和工作经验定性成份与绩效间存在中等程度相关;在控制了人口统计学变量的效应后,学习目标取向对绩效具有显著的预测效应;工作经验定性成份与绩效间的关系受到学习目标取向缓冲,在学习目标取向低分组,工作经验定性成份对个体绩效更具预测力     

THE EFFECTS OF CHOICE AND TASK PREFERENCE ON THE WORK PERFORMANCE OF ADULTS WITH SEVERE DISABILITIES

We evaluated the effects of choice versus the assignment of tasks of varying preferences on the work engagement of adults with severe disabilities. The combined results of two experiments suggest that the relative preference for a task may be an important variable in the effectiveness of choice for some individuals.     

THE EFFECTS OF INFORMATION MANAGEMENT POLICIES ON REACTIONS TO HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEMS: AN INTEGRATION OF PRIVACY AND PROCEDURAL JUSTICE PERSPECTIVES

The goal of the present study was to extend research on information privacy and fairness by examining these constructs within the context of human resource information systems. Using a 2 × 2 experimental design and data from 124 employed subjects in an organization that was in the process of developing a human resource information system, the present study examined the main and interactive effects of policies concerning ability to authorize disclosure (ability to authorize vs. no ability to authorize) and target of disclosure (internal to the organization vs. external to the organization) on invasion of privacy perceptions and fairness perceptions. Results of multivariate and univariate analyses of variance indicated that the independent variables had main and interactive effects on both fairness perceptions and invasion of privacy perceptions. Moreover, a confirmatory factor analysis suggested that invasion of privacy perceptions and fairness perceptions are distinct constructs. Implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.     

ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL TRAINING AND SUPPORT

The present study uses both objective and survey data to examine relations among retail sales training, organizational support, and store performance and to examine whether training interacts with organizational support to predict store performance. The study is unique in that it presents an example of the analysis of the relationship between organizational level measures of training and performance, as opposed to more traditional individual level measures. Archival data in a correlational design were analyzed for 62 stores belonging to the same international merchandising firm. Two measures of training and two measures of support were used to predict two measures of store performance. Results indicated that training and organizational support were significantly correlated with both measures of store performance, although the relationship between training and organizational performance was stronger. In contrast to predictions, there were no significant interactions between the training and support variables.     

THE IMPACT OF PAY SECRECY ON INDIVIDUAL TASK PERFORMANCE

We generate and test a moderated mediation model of the effects of pay secrecy—a pay communication policy restricting employees’ access to information regarding the level of other employees’ pay in the organization—on individual task performance. According to this model, the effects of such a policy are posited to be mediated by informational fairness, procedural fairness, and performance-pay instrumentality perceptions, and moderated by tolerance for inequity. Using a lab-based simulation, our findings partially support this model, suggesting that perceived instrumentality mediates the adverse effect of pay secrecy on individual task performance but only for those low in inequity tolerance. For them, the instrumentality-mediated indirect effect accounted for over 20% of the total effect of pay secrecy on individual task performance. For those highly tolerant of inequity, a policy of pay secrecy was found to be directly associated with a higher level of individual performance than pay openness. The implications of the findings for research and practice are discussed.     

A FIELD STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ORGANIZATIONAL FEEDBACK ENVIRONMENT AND PERFORMANCE

This field study used the Job Feedback Survey (Herold & Parsons, 1985) and performance data gathered from multiple sources to examine the relationship between the perceived organizational feedback environment and performance. Regression analyses indicated that, while holding the other feedback variables constant, feedback from supervisory and organizational sources was related to reported job performance while feedback from peers and self was not. Most of the unique variance in performance explained by feedback was also accounted for by feedback from organizational and supervisory sources. Negative expressions from organizational/supervisory sources (e.g., the supervisor expressing anger, the company communicating dissatisfaction with poor performance) were related to lower performance, and positive job changes initiated by these sources (e.g., increasing responsibility, assignment to special jobs) were related to higher performance. Higher performers did not receive more feedback than lower performers but did receive more total positive feedback. Supplemental issues, possible explanations, and implications of the findings are discussed.     

SEX DISCRIMINATION IN HIRING: THE INFLUENCE OF ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE AND NEED FOR APPROVAL ON DECISION MAKING BEHAVIOR

It was hypothesized that an organization's climate could inhibit or encourage discriminatory behavior, and that subjects' need for approval would interact with climate to influence their decisions. One hundred and sixty-one male business students read one of two sets of materials intended to manipulate company climate, and then evaluated a fictitious resume of a male or female applicant for a managerial position within the company. Decisions regarding hire, salary, applicant fit with the company, and anticipated longevity were dependent measures. The hypothesis regarding organizational climate received partial support. In a discriminatory climate women applicants were evaluated less favorably than men in terms of likelihood of hire and degree of fit between the applicant and the organization. Although not statistically significant, a similar pattern of results was obtained on the salary measure and on the measure of applicant predicted longevity. Contrary to expectations, approval motivation was not related to the dependent measures.     

AN EMPIRICAL TEST OF CAUSAL INFERENCE BETWEEN ROLE PERCEPTIONS, SATISFACTION WITH WORK, PERFORMANCE AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL

Previous research has suggested that organizational level may explain to a significant extent the differential impact of role perceptions (i.e., role ambiguity and role conflict) on employee satisfaction and performance. Causal inferences could not be drawn from these studies because of the predominant use of static correlational methods. In this study, in a hospital setting, a six-month time-lag between data collection periods was used to develop causal inferences. The results supported the hypothesis that role ambiguity was a source of causal inference with satisfaction with work at the higher organizational level, while role conflict was a source of causal inference with satisfaction with work at the lower organizational level. The source and direction of causal influence with respect to role perceptions and performance was supported only at the higher organizational level.     

CHARACTERISTICS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE AND PERCEIVED WRONGDOING ASSOCIATED WITH WHISTLE-BLOWING DECISIONS

The potential explanations of why some observers report organizational wrongdoing, whereas others do not, are considered in this study. Nearly 8,600 randomly selected employees of 15 organizations completed questionnaires concerning whistle-blowing. Archival data and aggregate measures of organizational climate were also used. Discriminant analysis revealed that organization members who had observed alleged wrongdoing were more likely to blow the whistle if they had convincing evidence of wrongdoing, if the wrongdoing was serious, and if it directly affected them. Further, where the organization appeared to be dependent on the wrongdoing and threatened retaliation, whistle-blowers were more likely to report it to someone outside the organization. Implications for management practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.