Amy E. Hurley-Hanson

The use of mental imagery in the simulated employment interview situation

In this study, interviewees in the training group were instructed to use mental imagery techniques in a simulated employment interview. Results indicated that the subjects who used mental imagery had higher performance in the interview and lower perceived stress than the subjects who did not use mental imagery. Mental imagery did not have a significant effect upon perceptions of self‐efficacy. Mental imagery ability had a positive effect on perceived usefulness of mental imagery while controllability and vividness did not. Subjects did indicate positive perceptions of the mental imagery intervention and a willingness to use mental imagery again in the future. The personality variable, “conscientiousness”, had a significant effect in the mental imagery performance relationship.

Recruiters’ perceptions of appearance: the stigma of image norms

Purpose – To introduce a model which examines the relationship between recruiters’ perceptions of image and the stigma of image norms.Design/methodology/approach – This paper examines the influence of image norms on recruiters’ perceptions of applicants during interviews and explores the manner in which recruiters may stigmatize applicants. A model is presented which explores how image norms may be used to stigmatize applicants and affect recruiters’ decisions.Findings – Image norms are found to have an influence on recruiters’ evaluations of applicants during the interview process.Research limitations/implications – Empirical tests of the model are suggested to illustrate how image norm violations lead to stigmatization during the recruitment process.Practical implications – Applicants who are denied entry into organizations on the basis of their appearance or image, experience a subtle, yet unacceptable form of employment discrimination. Organizations need to ensure that they are not excluding potential...

The changing role of education on managerial career attainment.

Purpose – This study aims to explore the role of formal education in managerial career attainment and how this role has changed over time.Design/methodology/approach – The personnel records of two cohorts of managers who entered the firm at different times in a large internal labor market company were examined. The study encompassed years of education, subject of degree, timing of degree conferral, and quality of educational institution. Career attainment was regressed on the control variables and the hypothesized predictor variables using hierarchical multiple regression analysis.Findings – The research suggests that the importance of having an undergraduate degree seems to be increasing, while the importance of the selectivity of the university seems to be decreasing with respect to career attainment. Also, majoring in business continues to be an important factor related to career attainment.Research limitations/implications – Future research focusing specifically on the differences in managerial career...

Organizational responses and adaptations after 9‐11

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore whether organizations have increased their crisis response planning in response to the terrorist attacks of 9‐11. While organizations were encouraged to implement crisis response plans or improve their existing plans after the events of 9‐11, there is mixed research on whether firms have taken such actions.Design/methodology/approach – This study used a survey to explore if the number of firms implementing crisis response plans had increased since 9‐11. The survey also looked at employee perceptions of their companys preparedness for a crisis. By using subjects in New York and California, the survey also explored if there were geographical differences to the crisis response planning which occurred after 9‐11.Findings – The survey found that firms have not responded as well as researchers and the government had hoped. The survey did find that the west coast firms seem to be responding quicker than the east coast companies.Research limitations/implications ...

Distributive justice in northern Mexico and the U. S.: A cross-cultural comparison.

A comparison of distributive justice strategies was made between a collectivistic culture, i.e., Mexico, and an individualistic culture, i.e., the United States. This study is the first to include the effect of ingroup/outgroup on the distribution strategies as Fischer and Smith (2003) called for in their extensive meta‐analysis of the topic. Distributive justice was operationalized as the monetary rewards given by Northern Mexicans and Americans in sixteen different allocation vignettes. The results showed that the two groups were significantly different in only one of the allocation vignettes. These results indicate a convergence between the cultures of the northern maquiladora region of Mexico and of the United States. Northern Mexicans and Americans were not significantly different in their distributive justice strategies.

Extreme leadership: lessons from Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance expedition: Leaders, Teams and Situations Outside the Norm

In 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton set sail from London for Antarctica aboard the HMS Endurance. Having lost the race to the South Pole, Shackleton planned a polar expedition which would be the first to cross the Antarctic continent. Well aware of the dangers of polar expeditions, even Shackleton could not have predicted the extreme events that befell the Endurance Expedition. He earned his place in history not because he was the first to discover the South Pole, nor the first to cross Antarctica. Instead, Shackleton is remembered as a courageous leader who faced unfathomable challenges with optimism and conviction. Equally important, he is remembered as a compassionate leader who cared for his crew and rescued all 27 men who embarked on a remarkable journey into the unknown.