A behaviorally-based measure of manifest needs in work settings

This investigation represents an attempt to develop and validate a research instrument (Manifest Needs Questionnaire) capable of measuring the four needs of achievement, affiliation, autonomy, and dominance using behaviorally-based scales. The instrument is designed to measure such needs with specific reference to work settings and with minimal time requirements for completion. Results of both laboratory and field studies among 640 subjects indicate that the instrument exhibits acceptable levels of convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity, as well as reasonably high test-retest reliability and internal consistency. Results are compared to other, lengthier instruments designed to measure similar needs.     

Need for achievement,career mobility,and the Mexican-American college graduate

Need for achievement and career mobility were measured for 111 Mexican-American college graduates. Those with a moderate need for achievement were found to have the highest upward mobility. Those with either a high or low need for achievement had lower mobility. The implications of this finding are discussed.     

Selective exposure to information and cognitive dissonance

Despite numerous attempts, the selective exposure prediction of Festinger's (A theory of cognitive dissonance. Evanston, Ill.: Row, Peterson, 1957) theory of cognitive dissonance has not been consistently demonstrated. In previous studies, this failure can be attributed to design deficiencies, and other related problems. The present study manipulated dissonance by having subjects write a counterattitudinal essay under conditions of high or low choice. Information in the form of pamphlets and discussion groups was offered to the subjects such that they could choose information that was consonant and dissonant with the decision to write the essay. The information was offered either before or after an attitude measure on the essay topic, as the attitude measure could also be a source of dissonance reduction. The results indicate that the high choice manipulation yielded greater attitude change than the low-choice manipulation. High-choice subjects desired consonant information more and dissonant information less than did low-choice subjects. This effect was found for both measures of information desire (pamphlets and discussion groups). Low-choice subjects who received the attitude questionnaire before the information measures wanted information more than if offered the information before the attitude questionnaire, implying a sensitizing effect produced by the attitude questionnaire for the low-choice subjects. The various effects are discussed as providing support for predictions from Festinger's dissonance theory.     

Inquiry method effects on performance in a simulated business environment

The dialectical inquiry (DI) and devil's advocate (DA) techniques have been offered as two options for providing information to the decision maker. Several prior studies have not resolved the relative advantages between these two “inquiry methods.” This paper reports two studies that involve a business simulation task and an inquiry method manipulation. In the first study with student subjects as decision makers, the DA advice was more useful than the DI advice in a situation wherein plant and work force expansions were frequent. In the second study with experienced managers, very few expansion decisions were made, and the nature of DA or DI advice made no significant difference. Instead, a recommendation to engage in a high profit margin, low volume strategy proved useful in some conditions.     

Disentangling behavioral intention and behavioral expectation

Social psychologists have extensively researched behavioral intention and its relation to future behavior, usually within the framework of M. Fishbein and I. Ajzen's (1975, Belief, attitude, intention and behavior: An introduction to theory and research, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley) theory of reasoned action. However, the field has confounded two separate constructs while investigating intention: behavioral intention (BI) and what P. R. Warshaw, B. H. Sheppard, and J. Hartwick (in press, in R. Bagozzi (Ed.), Advances in marketing communication, Greenwich, CT: JAI Press) have coined behavioral expectation (BE), which is the individual's self-prediction of his or her future behavior. In this paper we define both constructs and explain how they differ in terms of the processes by which they are formed, their roles in determining behavior, and their utilities as behavioral predictors. We propose that behavioral expectation is the more accurate overall predictor since many common behaviors are unreasoned (i.e., mindless or habitual) behaviors, goal-type actions, or behaviors where the individual expects his or her intention to change in a foresseable manner. These are all cases where present intention (BI) is not the direct determinant of behavior but where the individual may be capable of appraising whatever additional determinants exist and of including them within his or her behavioral expectation. A study (N = 197) is reported in which student subjects received either a BE (n = 113) or a BI (n = 84) version of a questionnaire pertaining to their performance of 18 common behaviors. Overall, behavioral expectation was the better predictor of self-reported performance.     

论《孙子兵法》的战略思想对张瑞敏经营哲学的影响

《孙子兵法》博大精深,其战略思想可以用于企业经营。在这方面,张瑞敏是一个典范,其战略思想深受孙子影响。本文重点探讨孙子的“势胜”、“知胜”和“变胜”思想对张瑞敏经营哲学的影响。张瑞敏的成功证明中国古代文化对现代企业经营具有重要的指导意义。     

An abbreviated history of the International Stress Management Association (ISMA)

The American Association for the Advancement of Tension Control was founded in 1973 as an interdisciplinary effort encompassing the fields of dentistry, education, medicine, physical therapy, psychology, and speech pathology. The broad purpose was to facilitate the acquisition, dissemination, and application of sound knowledge for the benefit of society throughout the world. Annual meetings were held through 1978 with dues-paying members numbering almost 1000. Name changes were first to the International Stress and Tension-Control Association and then to the International Stress Management Association (ISMA) whereupon international meetings were held in 1979, 1981, 1983, 1988, and 1992. ISMA is flourishing, with meetings planned for The Netherlands (1995) and Australia (1996).     

The interaction of personality and job scope in predicting turnover

The interaction of employee personality characteristics and job scope in the prediction of turnover was studied. One hundred and nine individuals employed as machine operators (low-scope job) and scientific and technical personnel (high-scope job) within a large manufacturing organization were the sample. No direct relationships were found between personality characteristics and turnover for the combined sample of employees on high- and low-scope jobs. When correlational analyses were carried out within job scope samples it was evident that personality and job scope interacted in predicting turnover. For employees on high-scope jobs, turnover was negatively related to the need for achievement and positively related to the need for affiliation. Turnover was negatively related to the need for affiliation among employees on low-scope jobs. The implications of these findings for future research on turnover were discussed.     

Changing correlates of job involvement in three career stages

The nature of correlates of job involvement over three career stages (i.e., early, mid, and late career) was explored in order to account for the lack of consistency of past empirical work in the job involvement area. Data relating to perceptions of job involvement, job characteristics, job satisfaction, rewards, and individual differences were collected from 332 Canadian transportation ministry employees. Utilizing correlational analysis, support was found for the hypothesis that career stage moderated the relationship of job involvement and various situational, individual difference, and outcome measures. These results are discussed in light of the current literature.     

Age,and midcareer crisis: An empirical study of academics

This study develops an empirical basis for examining the midcareer crisis/ transition period of academic staff surveyed by questionnaire in four Australian Universities and Colleges. A total of 672 usable returns were obtained, representing a response rate of 52% of the academic staff. Principal components and factor analysis were used to establish latent social-role variables. Analysis of variance and covariance was applied using the latent social-role variables as dependent variables and occupational attributes such as age, sex, etc., as independent variables. The variable age was isolated from the larger study in this paper to illustrate empirically a midcareer crisis period for the population studied which is consistent with the general literature on midcareer crisis/transition.