Allan P. Jones

Psychological climate: Dimensions and relationships of individual and aggregated work environment perceptions

Abstract The present study attempted to develop a comprehensive measure of work environment perceptions and to investigate the appropriateness of using aggregated perceptual scores to describe subunit or organizational conditions. Dimensions underlying these work environment perceptions (i.e., psychological climate) were explored and related to a variety of situational, positional, and individual measures. Results indicated that: (a) five of the six dimensions found to underlie the perceptions of 4315 US Navy enlisted men were generalizable to comparison samples of firemen ( n = 398) and health care managers ( n = 504); (b) use of aggregated individual perceptions to describe subunit conditions was appropriate only for homogeneous subunits (i.e., divisions); (c) aggregated scores were significantly related to division context, structure, and personnel composition; and (d) division structure, context, personnel composition, and aggregated perception scores were significant predictors of division performance.

Organizational Structure: A Review of Structural Dimensions and Their Conceptual Relationships with Individual Attitudes and Behavior.

Abstract The paper reviews aspects of organizational structure and the conceptual relationships between organizational structure and individual attitudes and behavior. The review is separated into the following five parts: (1) the rationale underlying the development of organizational structure, (2) a synthesis of dimensions of organizational structure with emphasis placed on the identification of major explanatory constructs of structure, (3) a review of the interrelationships of the proposed dimensions of organizational structure, (4) a discussion of the conceptual relationships between organizational structure and individual attitudes and behavior, and (5) a summary and conclusions section. Major conclusions based upon the review included the need to identify the parsimonious constructs of organizational structure and the need to use more sophisticated integrating models in relating organizational structure to individual attitudes and behavior. A potential model is proposed, followed by speculative attempts to demonstrate applications of the model.

A Role Transition Approach to the Stresses of Organizationally Induced Family Role Disruption.

The present study investigated the degree to which the role transitions model postulated by Burr (1972) could be used to explore the incompatibility between family and job role demands as a source ofjob-related stress. The sample consisted of 181 married sailors aboard four deployed U.S. Navy ships. These individuals responded to questionnaires about different aspects ofjob-role conflict and ambiguity, goal attainment facilitation, role strain, and family/work role incompatibility. Relationships among the various measures were assessed on both a concurrent and predictive basis employing correlational and hierarchical regression techniques. The results suggested that incompatibility between job and family demands is significantly related to the ease of the role transition process.

Influences of supervisor liking of a subordinate and the reward context on the treatment and evaluation of that subordinate

Previous research suggests that a supervisors liking of a subordinate biases evaluations of that subordinates performance. Other research suggests that supervisor liking influences the treatment of the subordinate, which may in turn influence the subordinates performance. The present study investigated these influences in a laboratory simulation. Subjects (N=140) worked on their own tasks and supervised an alleged subordinate during a 30-min work period. Supervisor liking of a subordinate was manipulated by altering the personality characteristics and the attitude similarity of the subordinate. Reward context was manipulated by rewarding supervisors for either the total performance of both the supervisors and subordinates or for the individual performance of each supervisor only. Supervisor liking positively influenced the expected leader-member exchange, treatment of the subordinate, and evaluations of subordinate performance. The reward context influenced supervisor treatment of the subordinate and the number of problems the supervisor solved.

The Effects of Co-Worker Simiilarity on the Emergence of Affect in Work Teams

The present study examined the impact of various types of co-worker similarity (demographic, value, and behavioral style preference) on the evolution of co-worker affect Data were collected in conjunction with a 4-week training program designed to provide executive training and development to senior-level executives. Study participants were 43 senior-level managers enrolled in the program. These managers were assigned to five- or six-person case study teams as a part of the training. At three times during the 4-week program, team members rated each other on social liking, co-worker preference, and behavioral attributions (190 dyadic pairs were used in the analyses). Similarity in demographic characteristics and in behavioral style preferences contributed significantly to the prediction of liking and co-worker preference. All three types of similarity predicted various attributions and perceptions, although the pattern of prediction changed over time. The results and possibilities for future research are discussed.

Empirical Item Keying Versus a Rational Approach to Analyzing a Psychological Climate Questionnaire

The present study compared two approaches to scoring a Psychological Climate Questionnaire— an empirical keying of items using item analysis and a rational approach which focused on identifying the underlying constructs measured by the question naire. The approaches were compared with respect to prediction of performance criteria and the ability to ascertain the theoretical underpinnings of the in strument. Questionnaires were completed by 398 male firemen in a large metropolitan area. Results demonstrated that a summation of item scores to reflect carefully designed a priori constructs did not necessarily result in weaker prediction of perform ance criteria. Similarities of the present study with previous work are discussed.

Organizational reward systems: Implications for climate.

This study investigated the role of systematically different organizational reward structures upon individual perceptions of the reward climate. Nurses in a naval hospital worked for the same supervisors but were subject to either tenure-contingent (N=73) or behavior-contingent (N=50) reward systems. No differences in perceived reward climate were found between the two groups. In the tenure-contingent group, job attitudes reflected individual characteristics rather than perceived climate. The opposite relationship was found for the behavior-contingent group.

Personality and Value Differences Related to Use of LSD-25

Judgments regarding various personality traits were made on 49 subjects and related to frequency of LSD use. Frequency of use was negatively related to understanding of self and others, to degree of consistency between professed values and behavior, and to a sense of ability to control ones life. No differences were found between various frequency of use groups in terms of general academic and career competence. On the other hand, frequency of use was related to alienation from many traditional values of society and to an involvement in alternative life styles. Reasons for such differences are discussed.

Measuring the value of nonwage employee benefits: building a model of the relation between benefit satisfaction and value.

Researchers have commonly assumed benefits that employees view as more valuable have a greater influence on their attitudes and behaviors. Researchers have used 2 common methods to measure benefit value: attaching a monetary value to benefits and using self-reports of benefit importance. The present authors propose that the 2 approaches are conceptually distinct and have different implications. They use a social exchange perspective to justify this distinction and integrate both approaches and benefit satisfaction into a more comprehensive model of benefit perception. Results suggest that both measures have practical applications depending on the nature of the exchange relationship between the organization and employees. However, this relationship depends on the specific benefit and on employee satisfaction with that benefit. Some benefits lend themselves to a monetary estimate, whereas others lend themselves more to a nonmonetary valuation.

Perceived punishment and reward values of supervisor actions

The study investigated employee perceptions about the reward or punishment values inherent in a variety of supervisor actions. Actions viewed as most rewarding were generally actions that possessed (a) public visibility, (b) tangibility, (c) implied esteem, and (d) long-term implications. Actions viewed as punishing or aversive involved similar characteristics. Visibility appeared to be most strongly related to perceived severity. In contrast with suggestions in the literature (cf. León, 1981), substantial levels of agreement among raters were found for aversive as well as rewarding actions. Also reviewed are characteristics of leader actions that received mixed ratings from respondents.