Anson Seers

Team-Member Exchange Under Team and Traditional Management: A Naturally Occurring Quasi-Experiment

The quality of exchange relationships between work teams and their members was assessed for 103 manufacturing workers. Higher levels of team-member exchange quality, as well as of cohesiveness, satisfaction with coworkers, and general job satisfaction were reported by members of teams expected to be self-managing in contrast to teams expected to function as traditional work groups. Gains in departmental production efficiency were also found to be related to the work units average change in team-member exchange over time.

The Interaction of Job Stress and Social Support: A Strong Inference Investigation

A comparative examination was made of three alternative hypotheses (buffer, coping, no interaction) predicting job outcomes by job stress and social support. For role ambiguity, little evidence of ...

The dual attachment concept: A longitudinal investigation of the combination of task characteristics and leader—member exchange☆

Abstract The job characteristics model has guided a great deal of research on the relationship between task characteristics and employee satisfaction and performance. Research in this area has indicated the necessity of incorporating nontask factors of jobs for further theory building in organizational behavior. Based upon the framework of organizational role theory, the dual attachment model is proposed for the integration of the job characteristic model and the leader-member exchange model. Questionnaire data from 101 employees in a federal agency is used to analyze the three models with respect to the prediction of job attitudes and performance. The results indicate the complementarity of task and interpersonal factors in the prediction of job outcomes. An additive model, as opposed to an interactive model, is supported for the combination of these factors. Findings from time lagged analysis of these models are generally consistent with those from concurrent analyses, but the findings from dynamic analysis are only partially consistent with those of the concurrent and time lagged analyses. Individual difference variables are found to be of little importance in these models.

Time dimensions of work: Relationships with perceived organizational performance

Five of the thirteen work time dimensions identified by Schriber and Gutek (1987) were hypothesized to be directly related to perceived organizational performance. Perceptions of the time dimensions and organizational performance were gathered from managers in 122 manufacturing companies. Future orientation, autonomy of time use, and allocation of time were found to jointly predict performance, while scheduling and synchronization were not significant. Post-hoc analysis of the remaining time dimensions showed that awareness of time use was also directly related to perceived performance.

Predictors of organizational commitment: Variations across career stages

Abstract The matching of five predictors of organizational commitment to five career stages was investigated within a sample of 1536 employees. Between-stage analysis showed that, relative to other stages, the effect of team cohesion was stronger during the second stage, task challenge was stronger during the third stage, supervisory behavior was stronger during the fourth stage, and organizational climate was stronger during the fifth stage. Within-stage analysis showed that, relative to the other predictors, team cohesion had a larger effect at the second stage, job challenge had a larger effect at the third stage, and supervisor behavior had a larger effect at the fourth stage. Self-efficacy failed to predominate during the first Stage.

Determinants of union election outcomes in the non-hospital health care industry

Our research examines union election activity in the non-hospital health care industry over a 12-year period and shows that unions in this industry consistently win a greater percentage of their elections than their counterparts in either the hospital segment of the industry or other industries. Furthermore, the results indicate that several factors, primarily organizational characteristics, significantly affect the union victory rate.

The Memo Exercise: Combining the Case and Experiential Approaches in OB Teaching

The Memo Exercise described one effort to improve the writing skills of students taking Organizational Behavior classes. Since professional memo writing is a form of behavior in organizations, students write one page business memos to the instructor. The content of the memo can be an analysis of a case, exercise, or other classroom activity. Considerable structure and &dquo;coaching&dquo; is necessary to relieve the anxiety which initially accompanies memo writing. Based upon three semesters of use, the Memo Exercise does appear to improve the writing skills of most students. Moreover, it provides the student and professor with a useful diagnostic tool to improve writing skills before entering the business world. More detail about the exercise can be obtained in Exchange, vol. VI, no. 1, 1981. The three responses precede George Field’s longer article describing use of an exercise to train MBA students in public speaking. Each OB teacher is encouraged to submit his or her ideas and teaching tips about what one does to emphasize communication skills in class.