Measuring emotional management abilities: Further evidence of the importance to distinguish between typical and maximum performance

Freudenthaler and Neubauer (2005) have recently developed and validated performance measures of emotional management abilities (EMA), requiring subjects to indicate their typical behaviour in emotional situations (typical-performance instruction, TP) instead of assessing the effectiveness of different behavioural alternatives or indicating the most adequate response (maximum-performance instruction, MP). In the present study (n = 176), we examined the effects of these two instruction forms (TP vs. MP) on the EMA-scores in a between-subject design. In addition, the relations of typical and maximum EMA to cognitive intelligence components and personality traits were tested. Instruction-related comparisons of the EMA-scores yielded not only lower means but also higher standard deviations and higher reliabilities in the TP-condition. As expected, maximum EMA were significantly correlated with cognitive intelligence components but not with personality traits. In contrast, the typical EMA were moderately associated with personality traits but not related to cognitive abilities, providing further evidence of the importance to distinguish between typical and maximum performance.     

Effects of Participation in Decision Making on Performance and Employee Attitudes: A Quality Circles Meta-analysis

This study explores the effects of a participative technique, quality circles (QCs), on several employee attitudes and performance. The sample included 36 studies with 42 independent samples. Mean effect sizes were small for employee attitudes and moderate for job performance suggesting QCs affected job performance to a greater degree than employee attitudes. For organizations involved in quality management these results seem to suggest that quality interventions have a stronger impact on job performance than on employee attitudes. The study conclusions provide a positive outlook on the effects of total quality management interventions on productivity.     

Redrawing the boundaries of OCB? An empirical examination of compulsory extra-role behavior in the workplace

Contemporary literature on Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) has primarily focused on the positive connotations of the “good soldier syndrome.” Most of the studies published in recent decades about OCB have pointed to the benefits and advantages of voluntary helping behaviors, pro-social behavior, and extra-role behavior. In contrast with this view we suggest a different look at OCB by focusing on the exploitative and abusive tendency of supervisors and managements to impose so-called “voluntary” or “extra-role” activities via compulsory mechanisms in the workplace. Mostly, we are interested in empirically testing the relationship between such behaviors and employees’ performance. We follow the approach suggested by Vigoda-Gadot (Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior, 2006) to argue that such behaviors are a substantial deviation from the original meaning of OCB and thus should be recognized and analyzed separately. Our arguments are based on an exploratory study conducted in 13 Israeli schools. Of the 206 teachers who participated in the study, a substantial majority of 75% reported feeling strong pressure to engage in what we usually define as OCB, but should actually be defined as Compulsory Citizenship Behavior (CCB). The findings are discussed in light of present knowledge about OCB, and the implications question the normally positive image of this behavior.     

Is the job satisfaction-job performance relationship spurious? A meta-analytic examination

The job satisfaction-job performance relationship has attracted much attention throughout the history of industrial and organizational psychology. Many researchers and most lay people believe that a causal relationship exists between satisfaction and performance. In the current study, however, analyses using meta-analytic data suggested that the satisfaction-performance relationship is largely spurious. More specifically, the satisfaction-performance relationship was partially eliminated after controlling for either general personality traits (e.g., Five Factor Model traits and core self-evaluations) or for work locus of control and was almost completely eliminated after controlling for organization-based self-esteem. The practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

On the role of passion in performance

The present paper reports two studies designed to test the Dualistic Model of Passion with regard to performance attainment in two fields of expertise. Results from both studies supported the Passion Model. Harmonious passion was shown to be a positive source of activity investment in that it directly predicted deliberate practice (Study 1) and positively predicted mastery goals which in turn positively predicted deliberate practice (Study 2). In turn, deliberate practice had a direct positive impact on performance attainment. Obsessive passion was shown to be a mixed source of activity investment. While it directly predicted deliberate practice (Study 1) and directly predicted mastery goals (which predicted deliberate practice), it also predicted performance-avoidance and performance-approach goals, with the former having a tendency to facilitate performance directly, and the latter to directly negatively impact on performance attainment (Study 2). Finally, harmonious passion was also positively related to subjective well-being (SWB) in both studies, while obsessive passion was either unrelated (Study 1) or negatively related to SWB (Study 2). The conceptual and applied implications of the differential influences of harmonious and obsessive passion in performance are discussed.     

Making gender matter: the role of gender-based expectancies and gender identification on women's and men's math performance in Sweden

It is well established that an emphasis on gender differences may have a negative effect on women's math performance in USA, Germany and the Netherlands. It has further been found that an individual's identification with the stereotyped group may moderate effects of negative stereotypes. The present study investigated how gender-based expectancies affected the math performance of women and men in Sweden, a nation with a smaller gender gap than in other countries, and a strong cultural emphasis on gender equality. Participants, 112 female and 74 male undergraduate math students from Swedish universities, completed a difficult math test in which their gender was either linked to their test performance or not. Men performed better than women when gender was made relevant among participants who did not see their gender as an important aspect of their identity, while participants high in gender identification were unaffected by gender identity relevance. Moreover, the gender relevance manipulation affected men's performance more than women's. The results deviate from findings on US samples, indicating that the role of group identification as a moderator of stereotype-based expectancy effects is complex, and that factors in the cultural context may interact with individual differences in identification to determine the impact of negative stereotypes.     

不同解题条件下小学六年级学生真实性思考的研究

本研究采用7道真实性算术应用题构成的测试材料,考察了不同解题条件下小学六年级学生的真实性思考。选取优中差学生共74人,先在以班级为单位的数学测验中完成测试材料,然后进行事后个别访谈。结果表明：1）一般访谈显著地提高了学生真实性思考的水平;而访谈提示进一步显著地提高学生真实性思考的水平。2）不同学业水平学生之间在两次真实性思考提高量上都没有显著差异。3）在访谈中,优差学生在反应方式与真实性思考的层次性等方面表现出差异。基于这些研究结果,我们提出了相应的教育建议。     

Effects of Pro-Environmental Recruiting Messages: The Role of Organizational Reputation

Purpose  The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a pro-environmental corporate message on prospective applicants’ attitudes toward a fictitious hiring organization. Drawing from signaling theory, we hypothesized that an environmental message on the organization’s recruitment website would increase prospective applicants’ perceptions of organizational prestige, which would then increase job pursuit intentions. Personal environmental attitudes were also examined as a possible moderator. Design/Methodology/Approach  Participants (N = 183) viewed a web site printout that either did or did not contain a message indicating the organization’s environmental support. Participants rated their attitudes toward the environment, perceptions of the organization, and job pursuit intentions. Findings  Findings demonstrated that the environmental support message positively affected job pursuit intentions; further, this effect was mediated by perceptions of the organization’s reputation. Contrary to the person–organization fit perspective, the message’s effects on job pursuit intentions were not contingent upon the participant’s own environmental stance. Implications  These findings highlight the importance of corporate social performance as a source of information for a variety of job seekers. Even relatively small amounts of information regarding corporate social performance can positively affect an organization’s reputation and recruitment efforts. Originality/Value  In general, this research contributes to the growing body of literature on corporate social responsibility. It is the first study to test whether the effects of pro-environmental recruiting messages on job pursuit intentions depend upon an applicant’s personal environmental stance. In addition, this is the first study to demonstrate reputation’s meditational role in the effects of corporate social responsibility on recruitment efforts.     

服务破坏行为：概念、测量与相关变量

服务破坏行为是指服务行业组织成员在向顾客提供服务的过程中,故意做出的对服务造成负面影响的行为,也是以往研究中关于工作场所中的破坏行为在服务行业中的体现;服务破坏行为的表现主要有四种类型：习惯且私下的服务破坏,习惯且公开的服务破坏,偶发且私下的服务破坏,偶发且公开的服务破坏;服务破坏行为的测量方法主要有：访谈法,问卷调查法和情景投射法;从个人、群体、组织与环境四个水平分析服务破坏行为的前因变量,从对个体、服务绩效及组织绩效三个方面探讨服务破坏行为的结果变量;该领域未来的研究应着重于进一步改进测量的方法,分析相关变量之间的作用机制,寻求控制服务破坏行为的有效对策,拓展视野,进一步扩大研究中被试的类型及行业领域     

集体问题解决中的知识、惯例和绩效

在Cohen和Bacdayan发明的两人TTT纸牌游戏的基础上开发了三人TTT游戏,并以此为实验任务,考察了三人集体问题解决活动能否形成惯例,比较了有问题图式组和无问题图式组之间在惯例和绩效上的差异。实验结果表明：（1）三人问题解决能够形成惯例;（2）有图式组的惯例化程度总体上低于无图式组,而其惯例化程度提高的速度则快于后者;（3）无图式组的绩效高于有图式组,但前期差异显著,后期不显著。这些结果将前人基于两人TTT游戏所做的惯例研究进一步拓展到三人情境,证实了三人互动中惯例的生成,为研究涉及更多人互动的真正意义上的组织惯例奠定了基础;阐明了知识,特别是前人在组织惯例研究中所忽视的陈述性知识,对于惯例形成和绩效提升的影响,并揭示了其在组织管理和决策活动中的实际意义。