Bruce M. Meglino

Review and Conceptual Analysis of the Employee Turnover Process

Research on employee turnover since the Porter and Steers analysis of the literature reveals that age, tenure, overall satisfaction, job content, intentions to remain on the job, and commitment are consistently and negatively related to turnover. Generally, however, less than 20% of the variance in turnover is explained. Lack of a clear conceptual model, failure to consider available job alternatives, insufficient multivariate research, and infrequent longitudinal studies are identified as factors precluding a better understanding of the psychology of the employee turnover process. A conceptual model is presented that suggests a need to distinguish between satisfaction (present oriented) and attraction/expected utility (future oriented) for both the present role and alternative roles, a need to consider nonwork values and nonwork consequences of turnover behavior as well as contractual constraints, and a potential mechanism for integrating aggregate-level research findings into an individual-le vel model of the turnover process. Employee withdrawal, in the form of turnover, has sustained the interest of personnel researchers, behavioral scientists, and management practitioners. At the macro level, economists and personnel researchers have demonstrated the relationship between turnover rates and the aggregate level of economic activity, employment levels, and vacancy levels (see, e.g., Armknecht & Early, 1972; Forrest, Cummings, & Johnson, 1977; Price, 1977; Woodward, 1975-1976). At the micro level, behavioral research has established a consistent, although generally weak, correlation between job dissatisfaction and turnover (Brayfield & Crockett, 19SS; Locke, 1976; Porter & Steers, 1973; Vroom, 1964; Herzberg, Mausner, Peterson, & Capwell,

Individual Values in Organizations: Concepts, Controversies, and Research

The values of managers and employees in organizations are phenomena that have captured the interest of researchers, practitioners, social critics, and the public at large. Despite this attention, there continues to be a conspicuous lack of agreement on what values are and how they influence individuals. In this article we discuss how values have been defined and conceptualized. Focusing on values as desirable modes of behavior, we describe how they affect individuals in organizations and discuss some of the salient controversies that characterize contemporary research on values. Finally, we report on a comprehensive review of the most recent literature in this area.

A cognitive view of the performance appraisal process: A model and research propositions

Abstract This paper presents a model of performance appraisal which focuses on the cognitive processes employed by a rater attempting to form an evaluation. The model describes the method by which a rater collects, encodes, stores, and later retrieves information from memory, and the method by which he or she weights and combines this information to form an evaluation which is converted to a rating on a scale. The model is based on diverse bodies of literature which share a social-cognitive orientation, and it forms the foundation for a number of testable research propositions.

The Antecedents and Consequences of Group Potency: A Longitudinal Investigation of Newly Formed Work Groups

We examined the effect of work group processes (charismatic leadership and communication-cooperation) on the evolution of group potency among newly formed work groups. Results showed that these pro...

Value Congruence between Co-Workers and its Relationship to Work Outcomes

Value congruence between co-workers is an important dimension of an individuals fit with the work environment. This study examined the relationship of value congruence between co-workers and various work-related outcomes in an industrial setting. Findings indicated that tenure moderated the relationship between value congruence and facet satisfactions and attendance, such that value congruence related positively to beneficial outcomes for lower tenured employees. The relationship between value congruence and performance outcomes was moderated by the extent to which the job required that individuals work closely with others. When job interdependence was high, value congruence had a positive relationship with a supervisory performance rating.

The Measurement of Work Value Congruence: A Field Study Comparison

Although research and practice involving a large number of individual and organizational-level processes requires making comparisons between different work-related values or sets of values (i.e., work value congruence), there is an absence of research dealing with how value congruence should be conceptualized and measured. This study examined a number of issues involving the conceptualization and measurement of work value congruence using interpersonal value comparisons. Comparisons were made for supervisor-subordinate pairs using work value congruence indexes composed of single versus multiple value measures and specific versus general value measures. These comparisons were made for actual and squared indexes and for indexes that were corrected for association with their component value measures. Results showed that a squared congruence index using a more inclusive rank order measure was most appropriate for assessing the effect of value congruence on affective outcomes.

A Meta-Analytic Examination of Realistic Job Preview Effectiveness: A Test of Three Counterintuitive Propositions

Abstract We present a model of realistic job previews (RJPs) and, using separate meta-analyses, examine three counterintuitive hypotheses about their operation. We found modest support for two of the three hypotheses. Findings indicate that RJPs reduce the rate of job acceptance among persons with prior exposure to the job and increase the rate of job acceptance among persons with no prior exposure to the job. Results also indicate that RJPs can be more effective in reducing turnover if the organization is able to restrict the exit of new employees for a period of time after the RJP. Finally, RJPs show a pattern of being more effective in reducing turnover after longer periods of time following administration of the RJP; however, this pattern failed to reach conventional significance levels.

The Role of Other Orientation in Reactions to Job Characteristics

Attitudes are shaped through a rational process of integrating one’s beliefs and valences and an automatic process involving heuristics. This investigation extends research on the theory of other orientation by examining the role of other orientation in the first of these two processes. In two survey samples and a follow-up laboratory experiment, the relationship between beliefs about enriched job attributes and job satisfaction was weaker among persons higher in other orientation. These findings specify a different role for individual differences in job attitude formation that has implications for influencing job attitudes among persons from different professions, organizations, and cultures.

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 Dreus (2006) critique of their article (B. M. Meglino & M. A. Korsgaard, 2004) 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 Korsgaards 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.

When Does It Hurt to Tell the Truth? The Effect of Realistic Job Reviews on Employee Recruiting.

Increasing competition for new employees may limit the use of realistic (i.e., negative as well as positive) job information by employers during recruiting because it might reduce job acceptances. We examined this issue in a study of job acceptances among state correctional officers and in a comprehensive review of earlier studies in public and private organizations. Since research indicated that previous job exposure could influence how one processes information about a job, we also considered the impact of prior job exposure. Our study showed that persons who had prior exposure to the job they were applying for overemphasized negative job information, resulting in reduced job acceptances. However, those with no prior job exposure showed increased job acceptances. When categorized according to prior job exposure, the findings of previous realistic job preview studies supported this conclusion.