Considering situational and dispositional approaches to rational self-interest: An extension and response to De Dreu (2006).

The authors respond to C. K. W. De Dreu's (2006; see record 2006-20695-004) critique of their article (B. M. Meglino & M. A. Korsgaard, 2004; see record 2004-21169-004) published in the special section on Theoretical Models and Conceptual Analyses of the Journal of Applied Psychology. They maintain that De Dreu misinterprets their definitions and the psychological processes they addressed and thus raises a number of issues that are not relevant to their model. Meglino and Korsgaard's model focuses on the distinction between rational self-interest and other orientation, whereas the approach taken by De Dreu focuses on the distinction between rational self-interest and collective rationality. In this response, the authors clarify this distinction, address discrepancies between these two approaches, consider the effect of goals and rationality on other orientated behavior, and suggest directions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rational self-interest and other orientation in organizational behavior: A critical appraisal and extension of Meglino and Korsgaard (2004).

B. M. Meglino and M. A. Korsgaard (2004; see record 2004-21169-004). argued that rational self-interest varies across individuals and negatively relates to other orientation (OO). OO moderates effects of job characteristics on attitudes, motivation, and helping. Viewing organizations as social dilemmas in which employees face a mixture of competitive and cooperative incentives, the author argues in this article that strength of self-interest links to self-concern (SC), which should be distinguished from OO. SC and OO are orthogonal and unipolar. Implications are that some propositions by Meglino and Korsgaard need to be rewritten in terms of SC or OO, and that SC is predicted to moderate effects of self-related variables (e.g., job characteristics), whereas OO might moderate effects of social variables (e.g., team climate) on satisfaction, motivation, and helping. This also implies that when both SC and OO are strong (weak), individual- and group-level constructs are both (in)valid predictors of satisfaction, motivation, and helping. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Shaking Hands With a Computer: An Examination of Two Methods of Organizational Newcomer Orientation.

The current study investigated the effects of using a computer-based orientation program on organizational socialization and attitudinal outcomes. In a quasi-experimental field study, 261 newcomers either participated in a group, social-based orientation session or an individual, computer-based orientation session. Consistent with hypotheses, results indicated that participation in the computer-based orientation session led to lower levels of socialization in the more socially rich content areas, whereas the more information-based content areas were not affected. Levels of socialization mediated the effects of computer-based orientation on the more distal attitudinal outcomes of affective organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Computer-based orientation participation also negatively affected supervisor ratings of socialization. The results demonstrate the importance of newcomer orientations and socialization outcomes during organizational entry and that training method can be an important moderator of orientation practices. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Paying you back or paying me forward: Understanding rewarded and unrewarded organizational citizenship behavior.

The definition of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) has evolved from one in which the behavior is unrewarded to one in which rewards play a significant role. As a result, little is known about mechanisms that sustain unrewarded OCB. We used the theory of other orientation to examine 2 mechanisms based on the norm of reciprocity: the obligation to reciprocate the benefits already received from another (“paying you back”) and the expected reciprocity that one’s actions will stimulate future benefits from another (“paying me forward”). We propose that these mechanisms are more or less influential depending on one’s motivational orientation. In 3 experiments using both trait and state indicators of other orientation, we found that the prosocial behavior of individuals higher in other orientation was more strongly influenced by the obligation to reciprocate and less affected by the expectation of reciprocity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The disclosure dilemma for gay men and lesbians: "Coming out" at work.

This study examined disclosing sexual orientation at work for 220 gay men and 159 lesbians. Self-acceptance, the centrality of one's identity, how "out" one is to friends and family, employer policies, and perceived employer gay-supportiveness were associated with disclosure behaviors at work for gay/lesbian employees. Disclosing at work and working for an organization perceived to be more gay supportive was related to higher job satisfaction and lower job anxiety. Reactions of coworkers to gay or lesbian workers mediated the relationship between disclosure and gay/lesbian workers' job attitudes. Implications and solutions for management are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational citizenship behavior and performance evaluations: Exploring the impact of task interdependence.

The influence of task interdependence on the importance attributed to organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in evaluations of employee performance was investigated in 3 studies. In Study 1,238 undergraduates were exposed to a task interdependence manipulation and a unit-level performance manipulation and provided citizenship ratings. In Study 2,148 master of business administration students were exposed to a task interdependence manipulation and then rated the importance of OCB in their evaluations of employee performance. In Study 3,130 managers rated the task interdependence in their unit of principal responsibility and the importance of OCB in their overall evaluations of employee performance. The results suggest task interdependence may affect the importance attributed to OCB by evaluators. Implications of these results are explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job attitudes in management: I. Perceived deficiencies in need fulfillment as a function of job level.

This questionnaire study investigated perceived need fulfillment deficiencies in nearly 2000 managerial positions. Respondents represented all levels of management and a wide variety of companies. 5 need categories, chosen to represent a hierarchy of prepotency of needs, were studied. Results showed: (a) Vertical level of position within management had a strong relation to the degree of perceived satisfaction of the 3 highest-order needs—Self-actualization, Autonomy, and Esteem; for these needs, satisfactions increased at each higher level of management. (b) For the 2 lower-order types of needs, Security and Social, there were no systematic changes in satisfaction in relation to management level. (c) Among the 5 need categories, Self-actualization and Autonomy were consistently regarded as the least fulfilled needs at all levels of management. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job attitudes in management: V. Perceptions of the importance of certain personality traits as a function of job level.

This study investigated managers' perceptions of the relative importance of 10 personality traits for success in their managerial roles, as a function of level of position within management. Data were obtained by means of a questionnaire in which the 10 traits were rank ordered in importance by over 1800 respondents from all parts of management and all types of companies. The 10 traits consisted of 5 Other-Directed or Organization Man type traits, and 5 Inner-Directed type traits. Results showed that Inner-Directed traits were perceived as more important at each higher level of management and thereby Other-Directed traits were seen as more important at each lower level of management. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Efficacy Beliefs as Determinants of Teachers' Job Satisfaction.

Self- and collective-efficacy beliefs were examined as main determinants of teachers' job satisfaction. In 103 Italian junior high schools, 2,688 teachers filled out self-reports to assess self-efficacy beliefs, their perceptions of the extent to which other school constituencies, namely, the principal, colleagues, staff, students, and families, were behaving in accordance with their obligations toward school well-functioning, their collective-efficacy beliefs, and their job satisfaction. Multilevel structural equation functioning, modeling analyses corroborated a conceptual model in which individual and collective-efficacy beliefs represent, respectively, the distal and proximal determinants of teachers' job satisfaction. The perceptions that teachers have of other constituencies' behavior largely mediated the links between self- and collective-efficacy beliefs. Collective-efficacy beliefs, in turn, partially mediated the influence that teachers' perceptions of other school constituencies' behavior exerts on their own job satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job attitudes in management: VI. Perceptions of the importance of certain personality traits as a function of line versus staff type of job.

In a questionnaire study, over 1800 managerial respondents rank-ordered 5 Other-Directed or Organization Man personality traits and 5 Inner-Directed traits in terms of their importance for job success. Responses were tabulated by 3 types of managerial positions: line, combined line-staff, and staff. Results showed that staff managers placed relatively more emphasis on the Other-Directed traits and less emphasis on the Inner-Directed traits than did line managers. Managers in combined line-staff jobs were intermediate between the other 2 groups in their responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding the Emergence of State Goal Orientation in Organizational Work Groups: The Role of Leadership and Multilevel Climate Perceptions.

This article attends to a broad range of practically significant employee motivations and provides insight into how to enhance individual-level performance by examining individual-level state goal orientation emergence in organizational work groups. Leadership and multilevel climate processes are theorized to parallel each dimension of state goal orientation to cue and ultimately induce the corresponding achievement focus among individual work group members. It is argued that the patterns of leader behavior, which elucidate the leader's achievement priority, shape group members' psychological and work group climate to embody this priority. Resulting multilevel climate perceptions signal and compel group members to adopt the ascribed form of state goal orientation. The quality of the leader-member exchange relationship is viewed as a means to clarify leader messages in the formation of group members' psychological climate and internalize these cues in the emergence of state goal orientation. Considerations for future research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Longitudinal Study of Employee Adaptation to Organizational Change: The Role of Change-Related Information and Change-Related Self-Efficacy.

This study examined the role of information, efficacy, and 3 stressors in predicting adjustment to organizational change. Participants were 589 government employees undergoing an 18-month process of regionalization. To examine if the predictor variables had long-term effects on adjustment, the authors assessed psychological well-being, client engagement, and job satisfaction again at a 2-year follow-up. At Time 1, there was evidence to suggest that information was indirectly related to psychological well-being, client engagement, and job satisfaction, via its positive relationship to efficacy. There also was evidence to suggest that efficacy was related to reduced stress appraisals, thereby heightening client engagement. Last, there was consistent support for the stress-buffering role of Time 1 self-efficacy in the prediction of Time 2 job satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job attitudes in management: II. Perceived importance of needs as a function of job level.

By means of a questionnaire, 1916 managers indicated the degree of importance they attached to 13 items representing 5 areas of psychological needs. Respondents represented all levels of management and many different types of companies. The 5 need areas were Security, Social, Esteem, Autonomy, and Self-Actualization. Results showed that there was some relationship between vertical level of position within management and degree of perceived importance of needs. Higher-level managers placed relatively more emphasis on Self-Actualization and Autonomy needs than did lower-level managers. For each of the other 3 types of needs, however, there were no differences between responses from higher-level vs. lower-level managers. The findings from this study were compared with those from recent related studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Justice as a dynamic construct: Effects of individual trajectories on distal work outcomes.

Despite an amassing organizational justice literature, few studies have directly addressed the temporal patterning of justice judgments and the effects that changes in these perceptions have on important work outcomes. Drawing from Gestalt characteristics theory (Ariely & Carmon, 2000, 2003), we examine the concept of justice trajectories (i.e., levels and trends of individual fairness perceptions over time) and offer empirical evidence to highlight the value of considering fairness within a dynamic context. Participants included 523 working adults who completed surveys about their work experiences on 4 occasions over the course of 1 year. Results indicate that justice trends explained additional variance in distal work outcomes (job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions) after controlling for end-state levels of justice, demonstrating the cumulative effects of justice over time. Findings also reveal that change in procedural justice perceptions affected distal work outcomes more strongly than any other justice dimension. Implications for theory and future investigations of justice as a dynamic construct are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

From autonomy to creativity: A multilevel investigation of the mediating role of harmonious passion.

Building on self-determination theory, we theorized about and demonstrated, through 2 multilevel field studies, the pivotal role of harmonious passion in translating organizational autonomy support and individual autonomy orientation into job creativity. Results based on 3-level data from 856 members in 111 teams within 23 work units of a porous metal company (Study 1) and from 525 employees in 98 teams of 18 branches of a large commercial bank (Study 2) revealed 2 major findings. First, organizational autonomy support from a higher organizational level (unit or branch) compensated for the effect of autonomy support from a lower organizational level (team) or individual autonomy orientation on employees' harmonious passion. Second, harmonious passion mediated the interactive effects of unit (branch) autonomy support and team member autonomy orientation, of team autonomy support and team member autonomy orientation, and of unit (branch) autonomy support and team autonomy support on individual creativity. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings in the organizational context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 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)     

Antecedents and outcomes of union loyalty: A constructive replication and an extension.

Primary data obtained from unionized employees in Singapore were used to examine P. A. Bamberger, A. N. Kluger, and R. Suchard's (1999) integrative model of the antecedents and outcomes of union commitment. Structural equation modeling results revealed support for their integrative model. Specifically, the results revealed the influence of job satisfaction on union loyalty to be indirect through organizational commitment. However, the union-related antecedents (union socialization and union instrumentality) were both directly and indirectly related to union loyalty through pro-union attitudes. In addition, union loyalty was related to the individually and organizationally directed union citizenship behavior dimensions. Limitations of the study and implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job attitudes in management: IV. Perceived deficiencies in need fulfillment as a function of size of company.

This study was concerned with the relationship between size of organization and perceptions of need satisfaction and need importance in management jobs. A questionnaire provided data from a nationwide sample of 1916 managers. Results showed that at lower levels of management small company managers were more satisfied than large company managers, but at higher levels of management large company managers were more satisfied than small company managers. Size of company had little relationship to the other attitude variable, perceptions of the importance of various needs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of accent as a work stressor on attitudinal and health-related work outcomes.

Previous research has indicated that perceived discrimination can be a powerful work stressor influencing employees' outcomes beyond well-documented work stressors such as role ambiguity and role conflict. However, the incremental predictive validity of perceived discrimination based on foreign accent as a work stressor remains poorly understood. It was proposed that perceived discrimination based on accent influences employee outcomes such as job satisfaction and work tension above and beyond role ambiguity and role conflict. Data from 114 Hispanic employees who speak English with an accent supported this prediction. The moderating roles of group identity, self-efficacy, and perceived control in the process were examined. None of the proposed coping mechanism buffered the impact of perceived discrimination based on accent on employee outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)