An examination of linkages between personal characteristics and dimensions of transformational leadership

Recent research in organizational behavior has found that transformational leadership can engender improved employee work outcomes in many types of organizations. Personal characteristics of transformational leaders, however, have not been thoroughly investigated. This paper reports the findings of a study that explored relationships between personal characteristics and dimensions of transformational leadership using sales managers as the population of interest. Findings suggest that a reconceptualization of the proposed linkages may be necessary. Potential explanations for the results obtained are presented along with managerial and research implications.The authors gratefully acknowledge the host company for its participation in the study.     

Resolving the justice dilemma by improving the outcomes: The case of employee drug screening

In this paper we seek to accomplish two objectives. First, we review and describe a phenomenon we call the justice dilemma. We argue that workers often perceive valid assessment practices to be unfair. By using these techniques, employers risk incurring hidden costs that are associated with perceived injustice. Thus, it is sometimes impractical to utilize an assessment technique even though the procedure has good validity evidence. Our second purpose is to propose and test one way that organizations can resolve the justice dilemma. We do this in the context of workplace drug screening We argue that employees are often more tolerant of controversial assessment techniques to the extent that these procedures do not result in particularly negative outcomes. In a field study examining employee reactions to a drug screening program, this proposition was generally supported.     

DECISION AFFECT THEORY:

Abstract— How do people feel about the outcomes of risky options? Results from two experiments demonstrate that the emotional reaction to a monetary outcome is nor a simple function of the utility of that outcome Emotional responses also depend on probabilities and unobtained outcomes Unexpected outcomes have greater emotional impact than expected outcomes Furthermore any given outcome is lets pleasant if an unobtained outcome is better We propose an account of emotional experiences associated with outcomes of decisions called decision affect theory. It incorporates utilities expectations and counterfactual companions into hedonic responses. Finally, we show that choices between risky options can be described as the maximization of expected emotional experiences as predicted by decision affect theory That is people choose the risky option for which they expect to feel better on average.     

Infanticide and the Right to Life

Michael Tooley defends infanticide by analysing ' A has a right to X' as roughly synonymous with 'If A desires X , then others are under a prima facie obligation to refrain from actions that would deprive him [or her] of it.' An infant who cannot conceive of himself or herself as a continuing subject of experiences cannot desire to continue existing. Hence, on Tooley's analysis, killing the infant is not impermissible, for it does not go against any of the infant's desires. However, Tooley's argument in support of his analysis seems to justify, instead, a slightly more subtle analysis—namely, ' A has a right to X ' is roughly extensionally equivalent with 'Unless A expresses his or her desire that not- X , then others are under a prima facie obligation to refrain from actions that would deprive him or her of X .' But given this analysis, the infant's purported lack of any capacity to conceive of himself or herself as a continuing subject of experiences implies that we cannot be released from any duty that we might have not to harm him or her. In short, Tooley's argument in support of his analysis actually implies that infanticide may well be impermissible.     

Microanalysis of Smokers' Beliefs about the Consequences of Quitting: Results from a Large Population Sample1

Using an expectancy-value approach, personal beliefs about the consequences of quitting were studied in a sample of 1,305 cigarette smokers derived from a representative sample of the United Kingdom population. Subjects evaluated 32 outcomes of continuing to smoke or stopping smoking in terms of how much they “wanted” or “feared” them (outcome evaluation, or OE) and then rated the likelihood of each outcome occurring under the two alternatives, yielding a likelihood difference (LD) score for each outcome. Subjects with relatively strong and relatively weak intentions to try to quit were compared with respect to their OE, LD, and OE × LD scores. The results showed consistent differences between intenders and nonintenders. Intenders rated every positive outcome as more desirable and every negative outcome as more undesirable. Intenders also believed that stopping smoking would lead to a larger increase in their chances of obtaining the benefits (health, financial, social, self-esteem) and a smaller increase in their chances of incurring the costs (negative affect, loss of enjoyment), compared with nonintenders. The product scores showing the largest relationships with intention were for the outcomes “feel proud of yourself”, “feel a sense of achievement”, “enjoy yourself”, “feel energetic”, and “set a good example to children”. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for efforts to encourage more smokers to try to quit.     

Initial pastoral visits and communication in depth

Pastoral visits undertaken as a way of combining pastoral research on anniversary grief with a systematic plan for home visitation became a learning experience for the pastor. Three verbatim conversations with church members who donated flowers for the communion table during worship are reported. These conversations are reflected upon in light of the phenomena of anniversary grief and in terms of D. W. Winnicott's theory of communication.     

A model for police officer burnout

This article presents an empirically derived model of police officer burnout based on 199 male police officers. A brief review of research on police officer stress is also provided.This chapter is a summary of research conducted by Dr. Alan M. Goodman for his doctoral dissertation entitledA Model for Police Officer Burnout, June 1983, California School of Professional Psychology, San Diego.Alan M. Goodman, Ph.D. obtained his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology in San Diego, California. In addition, Dr. Goodman is a School Psychologist and is a consultant to several school districts in Southern California. Dr. Goodman has been employed in both inpatient and outpatient mental health settings. Most recently, Dr. Goodman has been a Registered Psychologist at Catholic Community Services in San Diego where he conducted individual, conjoint and family therapy sessions for a varied socioeconomic population, including city service personnel.Dr. Goodman has conducted extensive observations of police officers on the job through the Ride-A-Long program in which non-police personnel may accompany police officers on a particular shift of duty. In addition, he has consulted with numerous police chiefs regarding the various high-risk factors for those police officers who may be experiencing burnout and stress. In addition, intervention strategies in order to alleviate these feelings were discussed with these officials.     

Characteristics and treatment of batterers

This article summarizes the substantial research conducted in the last decade concerning the characteristics of batterers. While certain characteristics appear to be associated with these abusers, no specific profile has emerged. Treatment programs have focused on anger management, improving communication, improving self-esteem, changing beliefs, and stress management, but research has not determined the effectiveness of these programs. Various approaches for treating abusers are presented in this article, including psychoeducational groups for batterers and conjoint therapy for couples. The legal system's use of diversion programs for referral/sentencing of batterers is also discussed as an important method for reducing spouse abuse.     

Research note: Peak velocity timing invariance

Summary Subjects used arm movements to move a dot on a visual display into a predefined target area. Measures of the peak velocity values and the timing of the peaks were taken for the initial (preplanned) and the immediately subsequent (corrective) phases of movement. In both phases the value of the maximum velocity depended on task parameters such as amplitude. However, the time of the peak of each phase relative to its onset was invariant. Some implications of these observations for the nature of motor programs are discussed.