DETERMINANTS OF R AND D COMPENSATION STRATEGIES IN THE HIGH TECH INDUSTRY

This study indicates that sales volume, stage in the product life cycle, profitability and turnover are all important predictors of the method and magnitude of financial rewards provided by high tech firms to R and D employees. The most favorable situational factors for R and D incentive compensation are a low sales volume high tech company, operating in the growth stage of the product life cycle, with high turnover rates, and capable of linking profitability to incentive rewards such as bonuses.     

Conducting industrial and organizational psychological research: institutional review of research in work organizations

Although informed consent is a primary mechanism for ensuring the ethical treatment of human participants in research, both federal guidelines and American Psychological Association ethical standards recognize that exceptions to it are reasonable under certain conditions. However, agreement about what constitutes a reasonable exception to informed consent is sometimes lacking. We presented the same protocols to samples of respondents drawn from 4 populations: Institutional review board (IRB) members, managers, employees, and university faculty who were not members of IRBs. Differences in perceptions of IRB members from the other samples with respect to the risks of the protocols without informed consent and on the feasibility of conducting the research in employment organizations are discussed in terms of implications for industrial and organizational psychology research.     

Satisfaction pursuing approach and avoidance goals: Effects of regulatory fit and individual temperaments

Going beyond previous studies on satisfaction in pursuing approach versus avoidance goals, the current study is the first to examine individual satisfaction in pursuing approach and avoidance goals as determined by regulatory fit between type of goal and type of strategy. Specifically, the present study shows that people with approach goals have greater satisfaction when they use an approach strategy rather than an avoidance strategy. People with avoidance goals have greater satisfaction when they use an avoidance strategy rather than an approach strategy. In addition, we explored how individual differences in the Behavioral Activation System and the Behavioral Inhibition System influenced reactions to approach and avoidance goals and strategies.     

Asymmetry in structural adaptation: The differential impact of centralizing versus decentralizing team decision-making structures

This study tested predictions derived from Structural Adaptation Theory (SAT) on the longitudinal effects of centralizing and decentralizing decision-making structures in teams. Results from 93 four-person teams working on a command and control simulation generally supported SAT, documenting that it was more difficult for teams to adapt to a centralized decision-making structure after formerly working within a decentralized structure, than it was to adapt in the alternative direction. The negative effects of centralized shifts were mediated by efficiency and adaptability, in the sense that former decentralized teams experienced the negative aspects of centralization (lack of adaptability), but not the positive aspects (efficiency). The dangers of employing structural reconfiguration to solve certain problems in teams are discussed, especially if these changes are based upon expectations generalized from cross-sectional research that did not directly observe teams that experienced true structural change.     

Cognitive categories of raters and rating accuracy

This research investigated cognitive processes affecting the accuracy of performance evaluation. One hundred and twenty-five nurses from three hospitals completed questionnaires measuring their cognitive categorization processes and then rated a videotaped nurse's performance. Results focusing on the match between raters' cognitive categories and rating scales indicated that: a) rating accuracy was related to the match between raters' cognitive category dimensions and rating scale dimensions, but b) not related to the match between rating scales and raters' general tendency to describe ratees in terms of behavioral or trait characteristics. Raters' ability to differentiate clearly between rating dimensions was related to accuracy and to halo in ratings. Finally, work experience was related to raters' cognitive systems while prior rating experience was important for accuracy. Limitations of the study and implications for future research are discussed.     

Team learning: collectively connecting the dots

This article tests the degree to which personal and situational variables impact the acquisition of knowledge and skill within interactive project teams. On the basis of the literature regarding attentional capacity, constructive controversy, and truth-supported wins, the authors examined the effects of cognitive ability, workload distribution, Agreeableness, Openness to Experience, and structure on team learning. Results from 109 four-person project teams working on an interdependent command and control simulator indicated that teams learned more when composed of individuals who were high in cognitive ability and when the workload was distributed evenly. Conversely, team learning was negatively affected when teams were composed of individuals who were high in Agreeableness. Finally, teams using a paired structure learned more than teams structured either functionally or divisionally. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, as well as possible limitations and directions for future research.     

When can employees have a family life? The effects of daily workload and affect on work-family conflict and social behaviors at home

This article presents a longitudinal examination of antecedents and outcomes of work-to-family conflict. A total of 106 employees participating in an experience-sampling study were asked to respond to daily surveys both at work and at home, and their spouses were interviewed daily via telephone for a period of 2 weeks. Intraindividual analyses revealed that employees' perceptions of workload predicted work-to-family conflict over time, even when controlling for the number of hours spent at work. Workload also influenced affect at work, which in turn influenced affect at home. Finally, perhaps the most interesting finding in this study was that employees' behaviors in the family domain (reported by spouses) were predicted by the employees' perceptions of work-to-family conflict and their positive affect at home.