Effectiveness of positive reinforcement and goal setting as methods of management development.

Assigned a total of 22 female and 5 male managers in a medical center to 1 of 2 managerial training programs or a no-treatment control group. One program involved role playing, together with delayed appraisal sessions and assigned goal setting; the other involved role playing with delayed appraisal sessions, assigned goal setting, and immediate reinforcement via telecoaching. Measures of managerial behavior and subordinate satisfaction were collected 60 days after the completion of training. Results indicate that the training programs were statistically more effective than no treatment in improving the consideration and integration skills of managers and reducing the absenteeism of their subordinates, although the programs were not statistically different from each other. The success of both treatments was accomplished without any undesired reduction in the managers' general level of initiating structure or production emphasis. The program involving delayed appraisal sessions and assigned goal setting was most effective in increasing subordinate work satisfaction. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Support from the top: Supervisors' perceived organizational support as a moderator of leader-member exchange to satisfaction and performance relationships.

The authors hypothesized that supervisors' perceived organizational support (POS) would moderate the relationships between leader-member exchange (LMX), job satisfaction, and job performance. On the basis of social exchange theory, supervisors' exchanges with the organization and subordinates should be interconnected. The authors expected that supervisors with high POS would have more resources to exchange with subordinates. Thus, supervisor POS should enhance the relationships between LMX and job satisfaction and LMX and job performance for subordinates. Hierarchical linear modeling analysis provided support for the hypotheses in a sample of 210 subordinates and 38 supervisors of a grocery store chain. The positive relationship between LMX and job satisfaction was stronger when supervisors had high POS. Moreover, LMX was related to performance only when supervisors had high POS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-determination in a work organization.

Research testing self-determination theory was discussed in terms of recent work on intrinsic motivation, participative management, and leadership. On three occasions, managers' interpersonal orientations—toward supporting subordinates' self-determination versus controlling their behavior—were related to perceptions, affects, and satisfactions of the subordinates. Data from 23 managers and their subordinates in a major corporation showed that managers' orientations did correlate with the subordinate variables, although the magnitude of the relation varied, seemingly as a function of factors in the corporate climate. An organizational development intervention, focused on the concept of supporting subordinates' self-determination, was provided for the managers. Evaluation of the program showed a clearly positive impact on managers' orientations, though a less conclusive radiation to subordinates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal and interpersonal predictors of supervisors' avoidance of evaluating subordinates.

Supervisors' decisions about whether to formally evaluate their subordinates for each of 2 consecutive performance appraisal periods were found to be related to a linear combination of the following variables: subordinate's time under current supervisor, subordinate's job experience, subordinate–supervisor trust, supervisor's initiating structure behaviors, and subordinate's confidence in the operation of the performance appraisal system. A follow-up analysis, in which the criterion was the consistency with which subordinates were rated in both performance appraisal periods, suggested that relations among the predictors, relative to the criterion, may be quite complex. This complexity may reflect the decision strategy used by raters to combine information on the focal predictors when deciding whether to evaluate a particular subordinate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of rating format on goal-setting dimensions: A field experiment.

Atotal of 10 managers and their 62 subordinates participated in a field experiment that examined the effects of performance appraisal feedback deriving from two rating formats—behavioral observation scales (BOS) and graphic rating scales—on three goal-setting dimensions. Multivariate analyses of variance and a priori t tests revealed, as hypothesized, that the BOS format yielded significantly higher levels of goal clarity, goal acceptance, and goal commitment, the three goal-setting dimensions. Results are discussed in terms of systemic characteristics, that is, a "built-in" focus on specific behaviors, rather than a translation of generic performance dimensions into specific work behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Black-white differences in leader behavior related to subordinates' reactions.

Investigated differences in 4 managerial leadership measures (managerial support, goal emphasis, work facilitation, and interaction facilitation) among 72 Black, 36 White, and 15 Chicano subordinates of 16 Black and 17 White supervisors in 3 industrial plants. The 10 supervisory leadership questions used are part of a larger instrument, the Survey of Organizations. Findings were analyzed to determine whether or not the subordinates' reactions to their supervisors on each managerial leadership measure varied with (a) the race of the supervisor, (b) the race of supervisor and subordinates, and (c) the majority or minority numerical status of subordinates in work groups with supervisor of the same or different race. Results indicate that the behavior of supervisors toward their subordinates is a complex function of (a) the supervisor's own race and role in combination with (b) the race of subordinates and (c) the majority or minority positions of racial groups within the group supervised. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Safety in work vehicles: A multilevel study linking safety values and individual predictors to work-related driving crashes.

Although work-related driving is associated with high accident rates, limited research has investigated the factors influencing driving crashes in the work setting. This study explored multilevel influences on self-reported crashes in the workplace by surveying a sample of work-related drivers (n = 380), their workgroup supervisors (n = 88), and fleet managers (n = 47). At the driver level of analysis, safety motivation predicted self-reported crashes. In turn, drivers' perceptions of their fleet managers' safety values (but not drivers' perceptions of their supervisors' safety values), their own attitudes, and their own efficacy beliefs predicted motivation to drive safely. Furthermore, the influence of supervisors and fleet managers interacted such that drivers were more motivated to drive safely if they perceived both their supervisor and fleet manager to value safety. This study also explored the cross-level relationships between supervisors' and fleet managers' perceptions of organizational safety values and drivers' perceptions of managerial safety values and found a relationship between fleet managers' perceptions of organizational safety values and drivers' perceptions of fleet managers' safety values. These results illustrate that perceptions of workplace safety values are transmitted across levels of the organization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex effects on performance ratings on manager–subordinate dyads: A field study.

Tested the hypothesis of N. Schmitt et al (see record 1980-33528-001) that people rate those similar to themselves with more confidence, which is reflected in larger variances in performance ratings. 286 manager–subordinate dyads in all 4 sex combinations comprised the sample. Subordinates rated managers on the Behavioral Observation Scales (BOS), and managers rated subordinates using the Minnesota Satisfactoriness Scales (MSS). Bartlett's test for homogeneity of variance revealed that female subordinates produced significantly more variability when rating their male managers than when rating their female managers on total BOS rating. Female managers produced more variable ratings of male subordinates than for female subordinates on total MSS rating. Male subordinates and managers did not produce more variable BOS or MSS ratings when appraising other males than when rating females. Results are discussed in terms of role expectations. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of threat in a performance appraisal interview.

Real-life appraisal interviews conducted by 92 manager-subordinate pairs were studied intensively. Reactions of subordinates were systematically obtained before and after their appraisal interviews and the proceedings in the actual interviews were carefully documented by trained Os. Measures of subsequent performance improvement realized as a result of the appraisal interviews were taken 12 wk. later. The results indicated that a manager's attempts to assist a subordinate by pointing up improvement needs were likely to be perceived by the subordinate as threatening to his self-esteem and to result in defensive behavior. The greater the threat, the less favorable the attitude toward the appraisal system and the less the subsequent constructive improvement in job performance realized. These reactions were strong to the extent that the subordinate had relatively low occupational self-esteem. Some practical implications for appraisal practices are cited. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Power relinquishment versus power sharing: Theoretical clarification and empirical comparison of delegation and participation.

This article presents a theoretical and empirical comparison of delegation and participation. Although the two processes have sometimes been treated as interchangeable, delegation and participation have evolved from two different theoretical perspectives and are used by managers under different sets of conditions. Two studies are reported that examined these differences. The experimental study examined situational factors in Vroom and Yetton's (1973) leadership model that predict differences in managers' reported preferences for delegation or participation. Results indicated that decision importance, subordinate information, and subordinate goal congruence explained 23% of the variance in managers' preferences. The correlational study examined similar situational predictors of supervisors' reported use of delegation and participation with subordinates. These results largely confirmed the findings of the experimental study and also showed supervisor workload as a significant predictor. In addition, objective measures of subordinate performance significantly correlated with the use of delegation but not with participation. The implications of the findings for research on participative decision making are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Goal setting interview skills training: Simulated and on-the-job analyses.

In an organization that had an ongoing assigned goal-setting program, the effects of 2 formal training methods, role playing (RP) and videotaping (VTF) and lecture and RP, were studied in simulated goal-setting sessions and back on the job. It was hypothesized that the sales representatives (reps), who were subordinates of the trained sales managers, would report more positive attitudes about goal properties, be more satisfied with their jobs, and display better performance than reps of nontrained sales managers. Nontrained sales managers received a traditional introduction to goal setting in that they were given an operating notebook and told to proceed. 60 sales managers and 150 reps participated. Evaluators indicated that trained sales managers were more effective in the posttraining simulations than their nontrained counterparts. Pre- and posttraining evaluations of reps' (VTF, RP, and comparison-group subordinates) attitudes and performance indicated the superiority of formal goal-setting training over the traditional approach used with the comparison or nontrained managers. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The moderating role of subordinate political skill on supervisors' impressions of subordinate ingratiation and ratings of subordinate interpersonal facilitation.

Nearly 2 decades ago, social influence theorists called for a new stream of research that would investigate why and how influence tactics are effective. The present study proposed that political skill affects the style of execution of influence attempts. It utilized balance theory to explain the moderating effect of employee political skill on the relationships between self- and supervisor-reported ingratiation. Additionally, supervisor reports of subordinate ingratiation were hypothesized to be negatively related to supervisor ratings of subordinate interpersonal facilitation. Results from a combined sample of 2 retail service organizations provided evidence that subordinates with high political skill were less likely than those low in political skill to have their demonstrated ingratiation behavior perceived by targets as a manipulative influence attempt. Also, when subordinates were perceived by their supervisors to engage in more ingratiation behavior, the subordinates were rated lower on interpersonal facilitation. Implications of these findings, limitations, and future research directions are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rating format research revisited: Format effectiveness and acceptability depend on rater characteristics.

Rating format research has largely been ignored since F. J. Landy and J. L. Farr's (see record 1980-08528-001) call for a moratorium over a decade ago. Their conclusion that ratings were not affected by changes in scale format was based on research that treated all raters alike. However, individuals differ in the way in which they perceive and integrate information. This article investigates the proposition that differences in rating accuracy associated with different rating formats are contingent on rater characteristics. The study tested the rating accuracy and affective reactions toward performance appraisal of field-dependent (FD) and field-independent (FIN) raters on 4 different performance measures. As hypothesized, FINs were more accurate raters than FDs only when scale formats were holistic, and only FDs' ratings were significantly affected by the level of structure in the scale format. FIN raters were also more confident in their ratings and less frustrated and confused with the rating task than were FDs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rating leniency and halo in multisource feedback ratings: Testing cultural assumptions of power distance and individualism-collectivism.

This study extends multisource feedback research by assessing the effects of rater source and raters' cultural value orientations on rating bias (leniency and halo). Using a motivational perspective of performance appraisal, the authors posit that subordinate raters followed by peers will exhibit more rating bias than superiors. More important, given that multisource feedback systems were premised on low power distance and individualistic cultural assumptions, the authors expect raters' power distance and individualism-collectivism orientations to moderate the effects of rater source on rating bias. Hierarchical linear modeling on data collected from 1,447 superiors, peers, and subordinates who provided developmental feedback to 172 military officers show that (a) subordinates exhibit the most rating leniency, followed by peers and superiors; (b) subordinates demonstrate more halo than superiors and peers, whereas superiors and peers do not differ; (c) the effects of power distance on leniency and halo are strongest for subordinates than for peers and superiors; (d) the effects of collectivism on leniency were stronger for subordinates and peers than for superiors; effects on halo were stronger for subordinates than superiors, but these effects did not differ for subordinates and peers. The present findings highlight the role of raters' cultural values in multisource feedback ratings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subordinate participation and reactions to the appraisal interview.

Conducted 2 studies which examined relationships of subordinate participation in an appraisal interview to reactions to the appraisal and subordinate satisfaction. In Study 1, 25 managers rated their last appraisal on (a) helpfulness and (b) the Wexley et al measure of psychological participation, and then rated their overall satisfaction with supervision. The lack of significant intercorrelations among the psychological participation items indicated that different concepts of participation were represented. Items representing participation in interaction correlated significantly with appraisal helpfulness and satisfaction, while control of goal setting did not correlate significantly. In a 2nd field study, 56 hourly employees and 1st-level managers in a bank rated (a) their appraisal on certain characteristics, (b) their satisfaction with the appraisal, and (c) their job satisfaction. The invitation to participate was most predictive of appraisal satisfaction. The occurrence of goal setting correlated significantly with both appraisal and job satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Can Opposites Attract? Personality Heterogeneity in Supervisor-Subordinate Dyads as a Predictor of Subordinate Outcomes.

Unlike the majority of research hypothesizing that similarity between individuals results in positive individual outcomes, this article examines whether dissimilarity results in positive outcomes. On the basis of interpersonal interaction theory, the authors hypothesized that dissimilarity in the personality dimension of control within supervisor-subordinate dyads is positively associated with the subordinate's satisfaction with the supervisor; results obtained with polynomial regression techniques were supportive. However, for 2 other outcomes, organizational citizenship behaviors and work withdrawal, neither similarity nor dissimilarity within the dyad was important; subordinate level of control was related to organizational citizenship behaviors reported by subordinates, and supervisor level of control was related to work withdrawal reported by subordinates. These findings portray the importance of examining relationship complexities beyond similarity in organizational dyad research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Employee responses to formal performance appraisal feedback.

Investigated the attitudinal impacts of receiving formal performance appraisal feedback. Based on the suggestion that the feedback that one is "satisfactory" will be disconfirming for many feedback recipients, it was hypothesized that attitudes toward the performance appraisal systems and organizational commitment will decrease and remain lower for those receiving satisfactory ratings, whereas the attitudes of those receiving higher appraisal ratings will remain unchanged. The hypotheses were tested on panels of management and nonmanagement employees (the latter receiving new appraisals 12 mo after their managers) in 2 federal agencies over a 30-mo period using perceived and actual performance ratings. There was a significant and stable drop in the organizational commitment of satisfactory employees after the introduction of formal appraisals, with mixed results for attitudes toward the appraisal system. Findings suggest that potentially negative consequences of implicitly comparative formal performance appraisals can occur for those performing at a satisfactory, but not outstanding, level. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive categorization and quality of performance ratings.

The effects of cognitive categorization of raters on accuracy, leniency, and halo of performance evaluations were investigated in a field setting. One hundered seventy-four subordinates evaluated the performance of their managers on three performance dimensions. Managers were categorized as congruent or incongruent based on subordinates' perceptions of the extent to which the manager's behavior met the subordinates' expectations. The results indicated that the quality of ratings assigned by subordinates was related to the cognitive categories used. As hypothesized, ratings of managers who were categorized as congruent were found to be more accurate and also to contain more leniency and halo tendency than the ratings of managers who were categorized as incongruent. Implications of these findings for performance-appraisal research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moderators of the influence of supervisor–subordinate similarity on subordinate outcomes.

Gender, racial, and ethnic similarity were examined for 2,883 subordinate–supervisor dyads in a military setting. All forms of demographic similarity were weakly associated with satisfaction with one's supervisor and continued membership in the Army. White subordinates under the supervision of non-Whites expressed the lowest level of satisfaction with supervision. Two moderators were examined: supervisory support of equal opportunity and the length of time worked with a supervisor. Results underscore the value of fine-grained analyses in the area of relational demography and the value of studying temporal dynamics associated with relational demography. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)