Effects on organizational context (culture and climate) from implementing a 360-degree feedback system: The case of Arcelik

The current study aims to investigate the impact of the 360-degree feedback system (DFS) on organizational context (culture and climate). This longitudinally designed study was conducted at the Arcelik Cooking Appliances Plant in Turkey with 77 white-collar workers. 360-DFS was based on relevant literature and feedback given to the employees by The Arcelik Competency Model. Results have shown that the 360-DFS has effects on organizational context (e.g., employees' perceptions regarding support and achievement culture). The results have also revealed some significant effects on the participants' perception of the communication and performance appraisal system in the organization.     

Unobtrusive indicators of culture for organizations: a systematic review

ABSTRACT

We systematically reviewed the literature using unobtrusive measures to study organizational culture. To synthesize, theorize, and evaluate this research, we introduce the concept of an unobtrusive indicator of culture (UIC) for organizations. A UIC measures organizational culture through collecting data without engaging employees, and is conceptualized in terms of cultural artefacts. We identified thirty-five articles, containing 135 distinct UICs, drawn from 16 distinct data sources. UICs coalesced into two groups. First, textual UICs, with culture measured through language patterns in annual reports, employee online reviews, and emails. Second, UICs focusing on organizational practices, for instance, organizational policies or executive rewards. Over two-thirds (68%) of UICs measured values for integrity, results orientation, and clan cultures, and we conjecture that UICs may be most useful for studying aspects of culture sensitive to reporting biases, and benchmarking large samples of organizations. Forty-eight percent of UICs had good or promising construct validity: many were textual UICs, and those focusing on organizational practices were less established. UICs can potentially advance the study of organizational culture, yet must be developed and applied cautiously, with careful consideration of their advantages and limitations, and how they complement existing measurements and conceptualizations of culture.     

The impact of virtuality on team effectiveness in organizational and non-organizational teams: A meta-analysis

We meta-analytically assess the virtuality-team effectiveness relationship using 73 samples of organizational teams (5738 teams) reporting on a wide range of productive (e.g. earnings), performance (e.g. customer ratings), social (e.g. cohesion), and team member (e.g. project satisfaction) outcomes. Our results suggest that in work organizations, virtuality is not a direct input—negative or positive—to team effectiveness. In contrast, using 109 samples of non-organizational teams (5620 teams), we show that virtuality is a significant negative input to team effectiveness. We also meta-analytically assess the issue of results generalizability from non-organizational to organizational settings, and find that overall, results from non-organizational studies largely fail to generalize to organizational virtual teams. Using moderator analysis, we explore a number of study features that may explain the poor results generalizability from non-organizational to organizational studies. We find that results from non-organizational studies using undergraduate students, short team duration, and laboratory settings drive the non-generalizability effect, whereas results from non-organizational studies using graduate students, longer team duration, and classroom settings produce results comparable to those of organizational studies of virtual teams. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications are discussed.     

Learning climate scale: Construction,reliability and initial validity evidence

The current study developed an instrument for measuring learning climate in organizations. A review of the organizational learning and facilitation of workplace learning literature resulted in three theoretically relevant dimensions referring to facilitation, appreciation, and error avoidance. The 3-dimensional learning climate scale (LCS) was tested in a heterogeneous sample of Dutch wage earners (N = 1013). Confirmatory factor analysis and analysis of measurement invariance were conducted to establish the factorial structure of the measure. Also, convergent, divergent, and construct validity of the LCS were investigated. The findings showed that the newly developed instrument for learning climate has good psychometric properties: the three-factor structure was supported and the sub-scales were reliable. Furthermore, the LCS showed good convergent and divergent validity.     

Person–organization (culture) fit and employee commitment under conditions of organizational change: A longitudinal study

This longitudinal study examines how person–organization fit, operationalized as congruence between perceived and preferred organizational culture, relates to employees’ affective commitment and intention to stay with an organization during the early stages of a strategic organizational change. Employees in a large energy company completed surveys before (N = 687) and after (N = 627) the change. We measured perceptions and preferences with regard to four components of organizational culture (human relations, open systems, internal process, and rational goal) derived from the Competing Values Model (Quinn, 1988), as well as affective commitment to the organization and intention to stay. Using polynomial regression and response surface analyses, we found that both perceived culture and culture fit related positively with the criterion variables within and across time. The strongest evidence for relations involving fit was obtained for those components of culture specifically targeted for change. Implications for future research and the management of organizational change are discussed.     

Commitment profiles: Combinations of organizational commitment forms and job outcomes

Although the three-component model of organizational commitment by Meyer and Allen (1991) posits that an employee can experience the three components concurrently, previous research has been largely variable-centered, looking at the antecedents and outcomes of each component separately. Two studies explored how the three components combine to create distinct “profiles” of commitment and the implications of different profiles. In Study 1, six clusters were identified using k-means cluster analysis. These were labeled as the Highly committed, Non-committed, Neutral, Affective dominant, Continuance dominant and the Affective-Normative dominant profiles. Analysis of variance results indicated that the Highly committed, Affective-Normative dominant and the Affective dominant profiles demonstrated the most desirable job behaviors. The Non-committed profile showed the least desirable outcomes, followed by the Continuance dominant profile. Study 2 largely replicated these findings. The results suggest that affective commitment is the primary driver of positive outcomes, especially when combined with low levels of continuance commitment.     

The role of organizational politics,contextual resources,and formal communication on change recipients' commitment to change: A multilevel study

Over the past decade there has been an increased interest in studying the factors that affect people's commitment to change. Drawing from the Job Demands–Resources model, in this enquiry we explored the moderating role of two contextual resources (i.e., trust in top management, history of change) and formal communication in the relationship between perceived organizational politics and commitment to change. Data were collected from 2543 employees of 84 companies representing a wide variety of industry sectors. In a first survey we collected data about the work context. Two weeks after the first survey, in a second survey we captured data on people's commitment to change. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) was used to analyse the multilevel character of the data. Consonant with our hypotheses, the findings indicate that the negative relationship between perceived organizational politics and commitment to change is moderated by “trust in top management”, “history of change”, and “formal communication”. As a group the Level 2 predictors account for 18%, 2.5%, and 10%, respectively, of the between-unit variance in continuance, normative, and affective commitment for change.     

Work-life benefits and job pursuit intentions: The role of anticipated organizational support

The current study examined the impact of two work-life benefits, work schedule flexibility, and dependent care assistance, on applicants' intentions to pursue jobs with potential employers. The study also explored whether anticipated organizational support would mediate the relationships between these two work-life benefits and job pursuit intentions. Results indicated that although work schedule flexibility, dependent care assistance, and salary were all related to job pursuit intentions, only schedule flexibility, and dependent care were related to anticipated organizational support. Findings also indicated that anticipated organizational support fully mediated the effects of work schedule flexibility and dependent care assistance on job pursuit intentions. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of organizational support as a mediating mechanism through which work-life benefits influence more distal outcomes, and in terms of implications for organizational recruiting strategies.     

The effectiveness of workplace counselling: A systematic review

Background: In response to the stresses of the contemporary workplace, the challenges of maintaining satisfactory work-life balance, and the costs to business of employee mental health problems, many organisations have contracted to make counselling services available to their staff. It is essential to evaluate the effectiveness of workplace counselling, in order to maintain standards, and to identify examples of good practice. Objectives: This paper presents a comprehensive, systematic review of the effectiveness of workplace counselling. Findings are analysed in terms of client satisfaction, psychological functioning, the meaning of work, work behaviour, and negative outcomes. Findings: Taken as a whole, the results of research suggest that counselling is generally effective in alleviating psychological problems, has a significant impact on sickness absence, and has a moderate effect on attitudes to work. Discussion: Methodological issues are discussed, and it is recommended that more high-quality research is required in order to reinforce the evidence base for workplace counselling in relation to a number of key questions.     

Self-transcendent emotions and their influence on organizational effectiveness: A literature review and synthesis

Self-transcendent emotions are positive emotions that arise out of other-focused appraisals. These emotions shift attention from the self to the needs and concerns of others. Limited work, however, focuses on self-transcendent emotions and the underlying cognitive and behavioural mechanisms by which they benefit organizations. We review the disparate streams of research on self-transcendent emotions and detail the thought-action repertoires of four self-transcendent emotions (compassion, gratitude, inspiration, and awe), explaining how each contributes to effective organizational functioning. Central to achieving this aim is the broaden-and-build theory. We show how the four self-transcendent emotions broaden cognitive processes and build the necessary resources leading to specific positive organizational outcomes. We conclude our review with four themes: (a) the importance of delineating levels of analysis in self-transcendent emotion research, (b) acknowledging contextual and cross-cultural differences shaping the experience of self-transcendent emotions, (c) addressing measurement concerns, and (d) the examination of other self-transcendent emotions. In effect, we synthesize the positive psychology and organizational behaviour literature, generating a framework that prompts theoretical and practical considerations for the role of self-transcendent emotions in organizations.     

Affective organizational commitment and citizenship behavior: Linear and non-linear moderating effects of organizational tenure

Utilizing a meta-analytical approach for testing moderating effects, the current study investigated organizational tenure as a moderator in the relation between affective organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). We observed that, across 40 studies (N = 11,416 respondents), the effect size for the relation between affective organizational commitment and non-self measures of OCB was .23. However, we also found that organizational tenure moderated the relation in a non-linear way. Before 10 years of tenure, the strength of the commitment–OCB relation increased as organizational tenure increased; after that point, the strength of the commitment–OCB relation decreased as organizational tenure increased. In short, the moderating effect of tenure follows a curvilinear pattern.     

Counselling children and young people: A review of the evidence for its effectiveness

This paper summarises and presents the results of a BACP commissioned systematic scoping review on the research evidence on counselling children and young people. The methodology was based on a structured, hierarchical, systematic approach to searching and reviewing the research literature. Inclusion criteria defined the scope of the review in relation to a range of issues in counselling children and young people: behavioural problems and conduct disorders; emotional problems including anxiety, depression and post‐traumatic stress; medical illness; school‐related issues; self‐harming practices and sexual abuse. Four groups of counselling approaches were examined: cognitive‐behavioural; psychoanalytic; humanistic; and creative therapies. The findings indicate that the four therapeutic approaches are effective to a greater or lesser degree in relation to the range of issues. Although the findings show that there is little or no evidence for the effectiveness of some therapies for particular issues, this may not reflect the lived experience of children and young people engaged in counselling in a range of community and institutional settings. Instead, the absence of evidence is likely to reflect a lack of published studies that fit the inclusion criteria for this review.     

Perceptions of the organizational context and psychological contract breach: Assessing competing perspectives

This study examines how employees’ perceptions of specific features of the organizational context—organizational politics and procedural justice—are related to their evaluations of psychological contract breach and subsequent attitudes and behaviors. Across three studies, we examined the appropriateness of four models for describing relationships among the focal constructs. Results of these studies support (a) an environmental responsiveness model in which psychological contract breach mediates the effects of politics and justice on employee outcomes, and (b) a general fairness evaluation model where politics, justice, and psychological contract breach serve as indicators of a higher order factor that predicts employee attitudes and behavior. Implications and directions for future research are presented.     

Organizational supports and organizational deviance: The mediating role of organization-based self-esteem

Drawing upon belongingness theory, we tested organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) as a mediator of the relation between organizational supports and organizational deviance. Data from 237 employees were collected at three points in time over one year. Using structural equation modeling, we found that OBSE fully mediated the relation between organizational supports and organizational deviance. Controlling for preexisting predictors of deviance, including personality traits (agreeableness, neuroticism and conscientiousness) and role stressors (role conflict, ambiguity, and overload), did not eliminate the relation between OBSE and organizational deviance. The implications for the OBSE and deviance literatures are discussed.     

A bridge between cultures: Linked ethnographic-empirical methodology for culture anchored research

Relatively little research in community psychology has explicitly focused on groups whose world views, values, and practices diverge from mainstream North American and social science culture. Furthermore, when research does include members of subcultural groups, the same research methodologies used to stydy mainstream populations tend to be employed. In the current article, it is proposed that a linked ethnographic—empirical methodology is critical for culturally anchored research of rarely studied subcultures which differ markedly form the dominant culture. The use of a linked ethnographic—empirical methodology in the study of a nontraditional religious subculture is described, and the study's primary findings summarized. Respective and combined contributions of the ethnographic and empirical (i.e., quantitative) research components in seven key areas are discussed: (a) selection of phenomenon to study; (b) generation of hypotheses; (c) culturally anchored measure development; (d) sampling; (e) analyses; (f) interpretation of findings; and (g) social action. Limitations of the linked methodology are discussed. The author thanks Julian Rappaport, Chris Murphy, Robert Serpell, three anonymous reviewers, and the editors of the special issue for their valuable feedback.     

An evaluation of positive psychology intervention effectiveness trials using the re-aim framework: A practice-friendly review

Meta-analyses indicate the efficacy of positive psychology interventions in promoting well-being. But, despite accumulating empirical and anecdotal evidence of these interventions’ implementation in real-world settings, no review of effectiveness research exists. Accordingly, we identified 40 positive psychology intervention effectiveness trials targeting adults, and scored their reporting using the practice-friendly RE-AIM tool which assesses five dimensions of intervention utility: Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance. Reporting levels varied substantially: reporting on Reach scored 64%; Efficacy scored 73%; Adoption scored 84%; Implementation scored 58%; and Maintenance scored 16%. Within these five dimensions, reporting on participation rates, methods to select delivery agents, differences between participants and non-participants, programme maintenance and costs, was particularly sparse. The studies involved 10,664 participants, approximately half required specialist delivery, and 12 were researcher delivered. To maximize the potential of PPIs for population health promotion, expanded reporting on effectiveness trials is required. Recommendations to assist this process are offered.     

Perceived organizational support, organizational commitment and psychological well-being: A longitudinal study

Using longitudinal data (N = 220), we examined the contribution of perceived organizational support and four mindsets of organizational commitment (affective, normative, perceived sacrifice associated with leaving and perceived lack of alternatives) to employee psychological well-being. In order to assess the contribution of support and commitment independently from workplace stressors, we controlled for the effects of role ambiguity, role conflict and role overload. Analyses showed affective organizational commitment to mediate a positive relationship between perceived organizational support and well-being. In addition, perceived organizational support negatively related to perceived lack of employment alternatives which, in turn, was negatively related to well-being. Normative commitment and perceived sacrifice associated with leaving were unrelated to well-being. The implications of these findings are discussed under the lenses of social exchange and conservation of resources theories.     

Family business: A fertile ground for research on time,teams and positive organizational study

Further reflecting on the study of organizational behaviour (OB) in family business (FB), this rejoinder piece discusses and integrates the points raised in the three thoughtful commentaries and our original article. We start by highlighting the general agreement between us and the commentators on three points: (1) that family firms are theoretically distinct from non-family firms due to significant involvement of kinship ties in the enterprise; (2) there is paucity of research at the interface of OB and FB and (3) there is an abundance of interesting research questions at this interface with the potential to benefit both domains of study. Next, we discuss and elaborate on the research possibilities on time, teams and positive organizational study, suggested by the commentators. An illustrative list of interesting research questions at the OB–FB interface that extend and enrich our agenda for future research is shared. We conclude that not only is FB a promising context for behavioural scholars to investigate, the timing is perfect for such investigations.     

Recruitment sources and organizational attraction: A field study of Belgian nurses

Previous research on recruitment sources has mostly focused on posthire instead of prehire outcomes and has typically applied a very rudimentary classification of sources on the basis of the formal–informal distinction. The present study relied on a theory-driven taxonomy to identify four major types of recruitment sources (recruitment advertising, recruitment events, publicity, and word of mouth) and applied a source credibility perspective to predict differential relationships of these sources with organizational attractiveness. In a sample of 184 job-seeking nurses in Belgium, characterized by a high labour market demand, it was found that job seekers who spent more time on receiving employment information through experiential recruitment sources such as events and word of mouth perceived this information as more credible. In addition, job seekers' exposure to word of mouth was strongly positively related to their attraction to organizations as an employer. This relationship was partially mediated by the perceived credibility of the received employment information. Therefore, the results of this field study suggest that to enhance their attractiveness as an employer for job seekers, especially those in high demand on the labour market, recruiting organizations should provide credible employment information and stimulate the use of word of mouth as a recruitment source.