In search of the elusive U-shaped performance-turnover relationship: are high performing Swiss bankers more liable to quit?

This project revisits the perennial debate over the relationship between job performance and turnover. Disputing traditional findings, C. Trevor, B. Gerhart, and J. Boudreau (1997) observed that high and low performers quit more than do average performers. They further challenged received wisdom by showing that promotions can induce turnover, especially among poor performers, by signaling ability. The authors sought to replicate and extend these unconventional findings by exploring curvilinear and moderating effects on the performance-exit relationship among 11,098 Swiss nationals employed in a bank. Survival regression revealed that performance is curvilinearly related to quits and that bonus pay deterred superior performers from leaving more than did pay increases. Further, the average number of job levels advanced per promotion rather than promotion rate increased quit risks. Cultural and organizational moderators of performance-termination associations and effective strategies for retaining top performers are discussed.     

THE EFFECTS OF GROUP INTERDEPENDENCE ON SUPERVISOR PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS

A laboratory experiment was designed to test the effect of group member interdependence on supervisory performance ratings. Subjects played the role of supervisors in charge of evaluating members of a three-person work group which was constructed to include two good performers and one poor performer. Supervisors were either told that group members would work closely together (high interdependence) or independently (low interdependence). As hypothesized, supervisors rated the poor performer higher and the good performers lower when the group was portrayed as highly interdependent than when the group members were relatively independent.     

PAY SATISFACTION AND ORGANIZATIONAL OUTCOMES

Using multi level and multi method data, we investigated the relationship between pay satisfaction and outcomes at the organizational level of analysis. Individual-level survey data on pay satisfaction (including satisfaction with pay level, satisfaction with pay structure, satisfaction with pay raises, and benefits) were collected from 6,394 public school teachers. Organizational-level outcome data, both survey and archival, were collected from the 117 public school districts employing these teachers. With respect to its influence on organizational outcomes, pay satisfaction was positively related to school district-level academic performance and negatively related to average teacher intention to quit. We also explored the relationship between district-level union satisfaction and pay satisfaction, which was found to be positive. We discuss implications of our findings for for-profit companies that are knowledge based and human capital intensive (e.g., the service sector) and address possible future directions for research on pay satisfaction.     

Perceiving musical individuality: performer identification is dependent on performer expertise and expressiveness, but not on listener expertise

Can listeners distinguish unfamiliar performers playing the same piece on the same instrument? Professional performers recorded two expressive and two inexpressive interpretations of a short organ piece. Nonmusicians and musicians listened to these recordings and grouped together excerpts they thought had been played by the same performer. Both musicians and nonmusicians performed significantly above chance. Expressive interpretations were sorted more accurately than inexpressive ones, indicating that musical individuality is communicated more efficiently through expressive performances. Furthermore, individual performers' consistency and distinctiveness with respect to expressive patterns were shown to be excellent predictors of categorisation accuracy. Categorisation accuracy was superior for prize-winning performers compared to non-winners, suggesting a link between performer competence and the communication of musical individuality. Finally, results indicate that temporal information is sufficient to enable performer recognition, a finding that has broader implications for research on the detection of identity cues.     

Employment demographics and attitudes that predict preferences for alternative pay increase policies

A survey of 942 university staff employees shows that performance and cost of living are preferred over seniority as criteria upon which to base pay increases. Multiple regression analysis reveals that preferences for performance-based pay increases are most strongly related to perceptions that merit pay does not decrease co-worker cooperation, perceptions that performance differences exist among co-workers, employment in white collar jobs, and never having belonged to a union. Preferences for seniority-based and cost of living-based pay increases are most strongly related to the perceived need for a union, perceptions that merit pay reduces cooperation, education level, and gender. In addition, preferences for seniority-based pay increases are related to years of service.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1989 meetings of the Midwest Academy of Management.     

The form of the information and selective counting by ESN(M) pupils

The study springs from views on attentional deficits in retarded performers. Three experiments are reported in which educationally sub-normal (mild) category pupils and average ability pupils matched with them for mental age perform a speeded classification of cards on the basis of an enumeration of a group of items on each card. This group may be the total of the items on the card or a selected part of that total. Interest focuses upon the relationship between performance in the selective situation and the form or structure of the item group. It is argued initially that attentional patterns may be expected to vary in relation to the specific structure of the information available and the way the performer appreciates that structure. The results support this notion. ESN(M) subjects perform in a similar fashion to the matched group, even given selective instructions, when what must be counted is the whole of a vertical linear series of items. However, when what must be counted is in the form of a part of a vertical linear item series, the performance of the ESN(M) group is significantly slower than that of the matched group. In addition the matched group appear more sensitive to discontinuity within the vertical item series while the ESN(M) group may have a less differentiated approach to such information founded mainly on the appreciation of verticality. It is suggested that aspects of information available to performers must be studied in relation to the kind of whole the particular performer takes the information to be. Although retardates do not carry appropriate structural expectations from situation to situation, suitable organisation of information can be appreciated, leading to more successful performance.     

Social Comparison-Based Thoughts in Groups: Their Associations With Interpersonal Trust and Learning Outcomes

This study relates thoughts derived from 4 types of social comparison to trust and individual learning. Our study ( N  = 362 students) showed that upward identification (i.e., believing one is just as good as a better performing teammate) was positively related to trust and individual learning. Upward contrast (i.e., believing one is worse than a better performing group member) was negatively related to learning, as were downward-identifying thoughts (i.e., believing one will perform as badly as a poorly performing teammate). Downward contrast (i.e., thinking one can do much better than the poor performer) was negatively related to trust. We concluded that social comparison-based thoughts are important to consider when designing teamwork because of their constructive and destructive consequences.     

Challenging conventional wisdom about who quits: revelations from corporate America

Findings from 20 corporations from the Attrition and Retention Consortium, which collects quit statistics about 475,458 professionals and managers, extended and disputed established findings about who quits. Multilevel analyses revealed that company tenure is curvilinearly related to turnover and that a job's past attrition rate strengthens the (negative) performance- exit relationship. Further, women quit more than men, while African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans quit more than White Americans, though racial differences disappeared after confounds were controlled for. African American, Hispanic American, and Asian American women quit more than men of the same ethnicities and White Americans, but statistical controls nullified evidence for dual discrimination toward minority women. Greater corporate flight among women and minorities during early employment nonetheless hampers progress toward a more diversified workforce in corporate America.     

Childhood Celebrity,Parental Attachment,and Adult Adjustment: The Young Performers Study

The associations between celebrity, parental attachment, and adult adjustment were examined among 74 famous, former young performers in television and film. As adults, former young performers whose parents served as their professional managers viewed their mothers as less caring and more overcontrolling than did performers whose parents were not their managers. Other factors affecting the quality of the parent-child relationship included dissatisfaction with money management, poor peer support, the perception that involvement in acting was determined by others, and the specific nature of professional experience. Together, these variables accounted for 59% of the variance in perceived caring and 40% of the variance in perceived autonomy support. The relation could not be attributed to a generalized response bias, as attachment was unrelated to degree of positive thinking. A Celebrity times Parental Attachment interaction indicated that the quality of the parent-child relationship moderated the effects of celebrity on adult adjustment: Among participants with good parental attachment, there was no relation between professional experience and adjustment; however, among participants with poor attachment, this relation was strong. Possible implications for parenting child actors and analogous populations of talented children in high-stress arenas are discussed.     

A LONGITUDINAL INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN JOB INFORMATION SOURCES, APPLICANT PERCEPTIONS OF FIT, AND WORK OUTCOMES

This longitudinal field study was designed to examine the relationships between job information sources, self-esteem, and perceptions of person-job (P-J) and person-organization (P-O) fit, as well as the relationships between perceptions of fit and work outcomes (job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational identification, intentions to quit, stress symptoms, and turnover). The results indicate that the number of formal job information sources and self-esteem were positively related to perceptions of P-J fit, and formal job information sources were positively related to perceptions of P-O fit. Perceptions of P-J fit were positively related to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational identification, and negatively related to stress symptoms and intentions to quit. Perceptions of P-O fit were negatively related to intentions to quit and turnover. In addition, perceptions of fit mediated the relationships between job information sources and self-esteem with job satisfaction, intentions to quit, and turnover. These results highlight the job applicant's perspective of fit, and demonstrate the importance of both P-J and P-O fit perceptions.     

The synergy of working memory and inhibitory control: behavioral, pharmacological and neural functional evidences

Concomitant deficits in working memory and behavioral inhibition in several psychiatric disorders like attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, addiction or mania, suggest that common brain mechanisms may underlie their etiologies. Based on the theoretical assumption that a continuum exists between health and mental disorders, we explored the relationship between working memory and inhibition in healthy individuals, through spontaneous inter individual differences in behavior, and tested the hypothesis of a functional link through the fronto-striatal dopaminergic system. Rats were classified into three groups, showing good, intermediate and poor working memory and were compared for their inhibitory abilities. These two functions were simultaneously modulated by a dose-effect of d-amphetamine and in situ hybridization was used to quantify dopaminergic receptor (RD1) mRNAs in prefrontal cortex and striatal areas. A functional relationship between working memory and inhibition abilities was revealed. Both functions were similarly modulated by d-amphetamine according to an inverted-U shaped relationship and depending on initial individual performances. D-amphetamine selectively improved working memory and inhibition of poor and intermediate performers at low doses whereas it impaired both processes in good performers at a higher dose. D1 receptors were less expressed in prelimbic, infralimbic and anterior cingulate cortices of good compared to intermediate and poor performers, whereas no difference was observed between groups in striatal areas. The synergy of working memory and inhibitory abilities, observed in both healthy and psychiatric populations, may originate from endogenous variability in dopaminergic prefrontal cortex activity. Such findings confirm the validity of a dimensional approach, based on the concept of continuity between health and mental disorders for identifying endophenotypes of mental disorders.     

Procedural and interpersonal fairness moderate the relationship between outcome fairness and acceptance of merit pay

An organizational field study (N = 257) investigated employees' acceptance of a new merit pay system as involving an assessment of whether merit pay can make their earnings more fair, compared to their earnings in the current, seniority-based pay system. We expected that improvement of unfair earnings, and consequently acceptance of merit pay, is considered likely when existing procedures that produce these earnings are unfair, because merit pay improves such procedures. We also expected improvement of unfair earnings, and increased merit pay acceptance, to be likely when employees anticipate fair performance evaluation in a new system, as indicated by fair interpersonal treatment by their supervisor. Results showed that procedural and interpersonal fairness in the existing pay system indeed moderated the relationship between fairness of current outcomes and merit pay acceptance as predicted. Implications for the introduction of merit pay in organizations and for our understanding of the different roles of procedural and interpersonal fairness in outcome evaluations are discussed.     

A meta-analytic comparison of the effectiveness of smoking cessation methods.

Meta-analysis was used to cumulate the results from 633 studies of smoking cessation, involving 71,806 subjects, that reported the proportion of successful quits. Self-care methods do not appear to be as effective as formal intervention methods. Instructional programs involving physicians were not more effective than other instructional programs. Conditioning-based techniques such as aversive methods had success rates similar to those of instructional methods, and among the instructional methods, those incorporating social norms and values were more successful than those relying solely on didactic approaches. Cumulation of quit rates from all available control groups indicated that, on average, 6.4% of the smokers could be expected to quit smoking without any intervention. This figure must be subtracted from the raw success rate to obtain the net success rate for each program. Directions for future research 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.     

Changing stereotypes,changing grades: a longitudinal study of stereotyping during a college math course

Previous research has illuminated an important connection between stereotypes and the performance of those targeted by a stereotype. This body of work suggests that even implicit (i.e., nonconscious and unintended) math-gender stereotyping is related to poor math performance among women. Our longitudinal study sought to measure students’ math-gender stereotyping during a college math course and examine the relationship between changes in implicit stereotyping and course performance. Results showed that, for both male and female students, stereotypes increased during the course. Importantly, there was a significant interaction between gender and changes in implicit stereotyping when predicting course performance. Female students showed a negative relationship between changes in implicit stereotypes and course performance, while male students showed no relationship between changes in implicit stereotyping and course performance. This suggests that only for women, who are stereotyped as poor math performers, did the observed increases in stereotyping over time predict poorer math performance.     

COMMUNICATION SATISFACTION,JOB SATISFACTION,AND JOB PERFORMANCE

This field study of 327 hospital nurses investigated the relationship between perceived satisfaction with organizational communication and job satisfaction and job performance. The researcher developed a research model incorporating nine dimensions of communication satisfaction and hypothesized their varying relationships with job satisfaction and job performance. Correlation, multiple regression, and canonical correlation analyses revealed significant positive relationships between communication satisfaction and job satisfaction, and communication satisfaction and job performance. The communication satisfaction-job satisfaction link was stronger. The same facets of communication—supervisor communication, communication climate, and personal feedback—were found to be most strongly related to both job satisfaction and performance. Although the importance of the superior-subordinate communication relationship was confirmed, top management communication also was substantially related to job satisfaction and, to a lesser degree, job performance. Rank-order correlation results of this study were compared to several other studies and some congruent patterns were found.     

Individual and organizational correlates of promotion refusal

Individual and organizational correlates of employees who refuse seniority-based promotions in union lines of progression are examined. The sample consisted of 313 production employees of a large manufacturing complex. Correlational and discriminant analyses revealed that age, being female, and number of employees in the department related positively to promotion refusal, while years of education and pay showed a negative relationship. Of these variables, years of education was the strongest predictor. Potential explanations for the results relate to stress avoidance, perceived inabilities, and equity theory. Areas for future research are suggested.     

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL BEHAVIORS: SUPERVISOR PERCEPTIONS AND SUBORDINATE REACTIONS

This study examined supervisor perceptions and subordinate reactions to formal performance-appraisal reviews. The performance-appraisal behaviors of supervisors and the reactions of their subordinates were studied in a sample of university employees. A factor analysis revealed that there were three dimensions of formal performance appraisals: two developmental dimensions (being supportive; emphasizing performance improvement) and one administrative dimension (discussing pay and advancement). Regression analyses suggested that supervisors supported highly rated individuals and stressed improvement efforts for poor performers. After controlling for the level of previous performance ratings, results indicated that support in the appraisal review was associated with higher levels of employee motivation, while discussing pay and advancement was associated with higher levels of employee satisfaction. Unfortunately, improvement efforts by the supervisors did not influence job performance one year later.     

Effectiveness in top management group meetings: The role of goal clarity,focused communication,and learning behavior

Bang, H., Fuglesang, S. L., Ovesen, M. R. & Eilertsen, D. E. (2010). Effectiveness in top management group meetings: The role of goal clarity, focused communication, and learning behavior. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 253–261. To explore the relationship between goal clarity, focused communication, learning behavior, and team effectiveness (i.e., task performance, relationship quality, and member satisfaction), self‐report and observer data from eight top management groups that processed 56 agenda items during meetings were analyzed. We found that goal clarity and focused communication was positively related to team effectiveness. The effect of goal clarity on team effectiveness was partially mediated by focused communication. Speaking up when a goal was unclear increased focused communication, task performance and relationship quality. Speaking up when the discussion was off track was not related to task performance and member satisfaction, and was negatively related to relationship quality. These findings have implications for how to conduct an effective management meeting.