KNOWLEDGE WORKER TEAM EFFECTIVENESS: THE ROLE OF AUTONOMY, INTERDEPENDENCE, TEAM DEVELOPMENT, AND CONTEXTUAL SUPPORT VARIABLES

This study investigated how autonomy, interdependence, and team development, along with process and contextual support variables, were related to the effectiveness of teams of "knowledge workers." The sample included 231 knowledge workers from 27 work teams. Team members completed surveys measuring the design, process, and contextual factors. Effectiveness measures included multiple key stakeholder evaluations of team performance and self-report measures of attitudinal outcomes. The results suggest that interactions among design, process, and contextual support factors have important implications for team effectiveness. In particular, the positive relationship between team autonomy and team job motivation was reduced as teams worked under more interdependent conditions. This interaction effect also varied across the types of autonomy (e.g., planning-related, product-related, and people-related) the team was given. Results also demonstrated that the relationship between job motivation and team process behaviors (helping, sharing, and innovating) was more positive in teams who were developmental mature. Process behaviors were positively related to effectiveness, but those relationships became more positive in the presence of certain contextual factors (high-quality goals and efficient information transmission), and less positive in the presence of others (feedback and time pressure). Future research needs and practical implications of these results are discussed.     

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE DETERMINANTS OF SUCCESSFUL ASSIGNED MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS

This study examined the influence of protégé characteristics, gender composition of the mentoring relationship, the quality of the relationship, and the amount of time the protégé spent with the mentor on career and psychosocial benefits gained by the protégé. Protégés were assigned to mentors as part of a development program designed to facilitate personal and career development of educators. An instrument designed to assess the extent to which mentors provide career and psychosocial outcomes to protégés was developed. Protégé gender, job involvement, and career planning activity was related to attainment of psychosocial outcomes. Implications and future directions for research regarding mentoring are discussed.     

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE FACTORS INFLUENCING EMPLOYEES' WILLINGNESS TO ACCEPT MOBILITY OPPORTUNITIES

This study investigated the influence of 1,076 state employees' career stage, family characteristics, job tenure and specialization, and perceptions of job favorability, movement, and career development opportunities on willingness to accept upward, lateral, and downward mobility opportunities. Results indicated that employees in early career stages with little community tenure who perceived a lack of congruence between their current jobs and their "ideal" jobs and expressed little desire to remain in their current jobs were more willing to accept mobility opportunities. Few differences were noted in regression models across different mobility opportunities. Implications for future research regarding employee mobility are discussed.     

Self-Actualization Need Strength: Moderator of Relationships Between Job Characteristics and Job Outcomes

The moderating effect of self-actualization need strength on the relationships between job characteristics and job outcomes was investigated. Results provide strong support for its effect on the relationships between job complexity and four of five outcome measures and suggest that responses of workers in the public and private sectors are similar.     

Performance contracting for human services

Traditional counseling approaches to providing human services either are inapplicable, were never given the chance to work, or did not work for large numbers of persons. This article suggests that performance contracting may be one answer to pressing domestic problems. In this approach, emphasis is placed on client, student, or applicant performance in terms of predetermined, commonly agreed-upon goals. It places little emphasis on agency structure or professional discipline or on special applicant or client groups. Important by-products include the promotion of experimentation and demonstration, the establishment of administrative and professional accountability, and the protection of the service consumer.     

Not all ideals are equal: Intrinsic and extrinsic ideals in relationships

The ideal standards model suggests that greater consistency between ideal standards and actual perceptions of one's relationship predicts positive relationship evaluations; however, no research has evaluated whether this differs across types of ideals. A self‐determination theory perspective was derived to test whether satisfaction of intrinsic ideals buffers the importance of extrinsic ideals. Participants (N = 195) in committed relationships directly and indirectly reported the extent to which their partner met their ideal on two dimensions: intrinsic (e.g., warm, intimate) and extrinsic (e.g., attractive, successful). Relationship need fulfillment and relationship quality were also assessed. Hypotheses were largely supported, such that satisfaction of intrinsic ideals more strongly predicted relationship functioning, and satisfaction of intrinsic ideals buffered the relevance of extrinsic ideals for outcomes.     

Synopsis of Wrenn and Kotler's Exchange Model for Marketing Parochial Schooling

In the Spring 1993 edition of the JRCE, Bruce Wrenn and Philip Kotler (pp. 119–134) drew from social exchange theory to explain why people choose parochial education. Wrenn and Kotler argue that marketing theory can both inform and improve marketing practice in such non-profit organizations as parochial schools.