Barbara A. Ritter

The impact of previous leaders on the evaluation of New Leaders : An alternative to prototype matching

In 2 studies, this research demonstrated the existence of leader transference, a cognitive process whereby mental representations of previous leaders are activated and used for evaluation when new, similar leaders are encountered. The 1st study demonstrated that exposure to a new leader who was similar to a past leader led to erroneous generalization of leader characteristics and associated underlying attributions. The 2nd study showed that expectations of just treatment and abuse were also subject to transfer from old to new, similar leaders, although positive and negative affective responses were not. Results suggested that individuals exposed to a leader who was not reminiscent of an old leader were more likely to use a general leader prototype to form leader expectations, whereas individuals exposed to a leader who was similar to an old leader activated a significant other mental representation for use in making judgments. These results have implications for individual- and relational-level processes as characterized by implicit leadership theory and leader-member exchange theory as well as macro theories of leader succession and organizational culture change.

Implicit and explicit expectations of justice as a function of manager and subordinate race

This study took a unique approach to the study of anticipatory injustice by differentiating between implicit and explicit justice judgments when participants were faced with a manager of similar or dissimilar race. Automatic, implicit justice expectations were assessed using reaction time in addition to the more traditional paper and pencil measures of justice expectations. Results indicated that regardless of manager race, minority status significantly predicted implicit (but not explicit) injustice expectations such that minorities were more likely to expect unfair treatment. Implicit expectations of injustice, as assessed by reaction time, were significantly related to explicit expectations. Finally, explicit expectations of injustice significantly predicted subordinate reduced self-esteem, but not stress levels. The implications of the results and the usefulness of a new implicit measure of justice expectations are discussed.

Deviant Behavior in Computer-Mediated Communication: Development and Validation of a Measure of Cybersexual Harassment

The use of computer-mediated communication continues to increase dramatically in organizations, bringing with it new avenues for sexual harassment. Despite the recognition that cybersexual harassment is an important phenomenon and that the online behaviors of employees can adversely affect the organization, there is little research on the development of instruments to measure related constructs. In the present study, scales are created to measure perceptions of the online environment that are thought to precipitate the occurrence of harassment and intentions to engage in sexually harassing behavior. It is found that perceptions of the online environment as stimulating where risk taking is exhilarating, and as an environment in which blatant prejudice is acceptable, are related to multiple forms of cybersexual harassment.

A multi-level exploration of empowerment mediators

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically explore the underlying mechanisms through which empowerment affects organizational outcomes via a multi-dimensional model. Specifically, the paper suggests that empowerment climate (EC) is positively related to psychological empowerment (PE) and the effect of PE on the outcome variable of job satisfaction is mediated by justice perceptions and role clarity. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 765 employees at the executive level across 26 distinct groups in a large manufacturing firm participated in the survey. Multi-level analyses based on both hierarchical linear modeling and multi-level structural equation modeling techniques were utilized to test the hypotheses. Findings – This research demonstrated that EC significantly affected PE and that perceptions of justice and role clarity mediated the relationship between PE and job satisfaction. Additional analyses demonstrated that EC did not significantly affect organizational outcomes above and bey...

Enhancing Teacher Credibility: What We Can Learn From the Justice and Leadership Literature

ABSTRACT Enhanced perceptions of instructor credibility are related to positive outcomes in the classroom, including participation and learning (Chory, 2007; Frymier & Thompson, 1992; McCroskey & Teven, 1999; Myers, 2004; Teven & McCroskey, 1997). We contend that student perceptions of instructor credibility can be directly impacted by applying management research to classroom practices. In other words, actionable management research is useful in the classroom not just to share with students because it may make them better managers, but also to improve teaching practices and related outcomes. The present article explores this tenet, first discussing why we believe applied research findings can and should be transferred to the classroom and then using Implicit Leadership Theory (ILT) and organizational justice literature to demonstrate how these concepts can be generalized to the classroom environment to ultimately enhance instructor credibility.

Experiential Exercises on Goal Setting, Leadership/Followership, and Workplace Readiness

The teaching and learning process is enhanced by the utilization of quality experiential exercises and experiences that make course material more relevant to students. This issue of OMJ includes three articles in the teaching and learning section that do just that. The first article presents an experiential exercise allowing students to apply common goal-setting concepts to hypothetical workplace scenarios. The second article provides an exercise that demonstrates the important role of followers in successful leadership. The third article in this issue presents an activity where students participate in every phase of the training process to design workplace readiness training for other students. Goal setting is a common topic in management courses. In “Setting Goals in Different Roles: Applying Key Results From the Goal-Setting Literature,” Lynn E. Miller and Richard M. Weiss review a sample of popular organizational behavior (OB) textbooks in order to discuss the overlap and agreement among authors about important goal-setting findings. They find that discussions related to goal difficulty, goal specificity, participation in goal setting, and feedback are most commonly occurring in these texts. An exercise that allows students to apply these principles to hypothetical scenarios is then presented in order to make these concepts more relevant to a real-life setting. Much exploration and discussion has occurred related to the teaching of leadership; however, relatively little focus has

The 100 Most Cited Articles in Business and Management Education Research

Research in the area of business and management education is relatively young as compared to many other areas in the field of business. As such, little analysis has been undertaken that examines the development of the field to generate an awareness of commonly accepted knowledge. In “What Are the 100 Most Cited Articles in Business and Management Education Research, and What Do They Tell Us?” J. B. Arbaugh and Alvin Hwang report the 100 most cited articles in the field of management education

Leaps in Learning: Reflective Questioning and the Mastery of Threshold Concepts

Business students are exposed to vast amounts of information. Although such exposure affords opportunities for learning, it does not necessarily promote depth of thought and understanding. The challenge for educators is to move students beyond surface learning to deeper levels of understanding that will prepare them for the complex, fast-paced, and rapidly changing business environment. In the summer issue of the Organization Management Journal, the Teaching & Learning section offers two articles that focus on enriching the classroom learning experience by promoting deep thinking and transformational learning. In the first article, A. Georges L. Romme and Inge C. M. van Seggelen-Damen explore reflective questioning as a way to improve the teaching and learning process in “Taking Nothing for Granted in Management Education: A Systemic Perspective on the Role of Reflective Questioning.” The authors explore reflective questioning as an act of sense-making that can be deliberately encouraged by classroom instructors to deepen the classroom experience. A number of propositions are presented, resulting in a causal loop diagram detailing variables related to and encouraging (discouraging) the emergence of reflective questioning. Thomas P. Bradley, Gerald F. Burch, and Jana J. Burch consider student mastery of threshold concepts in the second

Not a Pronoun: A Transgender's Professional Journey

This case describes the journey of Karson as he transitions from female to male. Throughout his life, Karson experiences a great deal of anxiety trying to reconcile his identity with the expectations of society. The anxiety inherent in this situation is described in order to get the reader to more fully empathize with the issues faced by transgender individuals. The case then focuses on issues specific to the workplace as Karson begins his career with a counseling agency and experiences several instances of discriminatory behavior.