Colin Silverthorne

The impact of organizational culture and person‐organization fit on organizational commitment and job satisfaction in Taiwan

The related concepts of organizational culture and person‐organization (P‐O) fit or congruence between the person and organization are important to organizational success. The psychological contract, which is both perceptual and individual, forms the basis of the P‐O fit. However, there has been little attention paid to the interaction of fit and organizational culture with such concepts as job satisfaction and organizational commitment and the application of this concept in non‐western cultures. The results of this study, conducted in Taiwan, indicate that P‐O fit is a key element in both the level of job satisfaction that employees experience and also in their level of organizational commitment whether measured by an instrument or turnover rates. An organization is not a passive or stable institution and it evolves and grows within an organizational culture. While P‐O fit may be linked to organizational culture, the impact of specific types of organizational culture was also assessed. Involvement in an organization that had a bureaucratic organizational culture resulted in the lowest levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. An innovative culture was next highest and a supportive culture had the highest level of employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment. These findings indicate that organizational culture plays an important role in the level of job satisfaction and commitment in an organization. In terms of the impact of the P‐O fit on job satisfaction and organizational commitment in Taiwan, the results indicate that the degree of fit plays an important role in all of the types of organizational culture studied. The better the fit the higher the levels of these two variables. The results indicate that the P‐O fit is an important variable within the organizations in non‐western cultures.

Organization communication, job stress, organizational commitment, and job performance of accounting professionals in Taiwan and America

Purpose – To further understand the impact of organizational communication and commitment on job stress and performance. Over the past 20 years, the constructs of organizational commitment and communication have been studied extensively but little attention has been paid to the relationship between them and other organizational variables such as job performance and stress. Also, differences between employees either in managerial or full time accounting positions and between respondents from the USA and Taiwan were evaluated.Design/methodology/approach – Differences and relationships were assessed using standardized and valid instruments measuring four organizational variables in Taiwan and the USA.Findings – No country level difference in stress and communication levels were found but organizational commitment and performance levels were higher in the USA. At the same time, higher levels of organizational communication led to higher levels of organizational commitment and job performance in both countries...

Leadership effectiveness, leadership style and employee readiness

Purpose – This study aims to test the Hersey and Blanchard Situation Leadership Theory (SLT) of leadership effectiveness and the impact of the degree of match between leadership style and employee readiness level on a variety of measures of leadership outcomes.Design/methodology/approach – The measures used were employee job satisfaction, job performance, job stress, and turnover intention. SLT argues that an effective leader adopts a leadership style according to the ability and willingness of subordinates for a given task.Findings – The results did not support SLT predictions that an appropriate match between leadership style and subordinate readiness results in higher levels of subordinate job satisfaction and performance and lower levels of job stress and intention to leave. However, the results did partially support SLT in that, the higher the leaders leadership score, the more effective is the leaders influence. However, the leadership score did not predict job performance. There was a positive co...

Leadership effectiveness and personality: a cross cultural evaluation

The renewed interest in personality factors as a prerequisite rather than a predictor of leadership is explored in a cross cultural context. This study compared samples of effective and not effective leaders in the US, the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Thailand. Based on the results of this study, there is evidence that the five-factor model of personality relationship to leadership has support in the US sample. Further, support was found for four of the five factors in the Republic of China sample but only for two of the factors in the Thailand sample. In general, the results raise questions about the consistency of the five factor model of personality when related to leadership and its usefulness in non-western cultures. However, effective managers differ from less effective ones in describing themselves as more extraverted, more agreeable, more conscientious, and less neurotic in all three cultures studied, and that US managers (but not Chinese and Thai) also describe themselves as more open to experience.

Situational Leadership Style as a Predictor of Success and Productivity Among Taiwanese Business Organizations

Abstract The present study was an evaluation of the impact of Taiwanese leadership styles on the productivity of Taiwanese business organizations. Specifically, it looked at the impact that both adaptive and nonadaptive leaders have on 6 measures of productivity: absenteeism, turnover rate, quality of work, reject rates, profitability, and units produced. The results indicated that the greater the level of adaptability, the more productive the organization is likely to be. Although not all of the computed correlations were statistically significant, they were all in the predicted directions. In particular, the findings for units produced and reject rates were consistently statistically significant. The study was also an examination of the usefulness of the Leadership Effectiveness and Adaptability Description (LEAD) questionnaire (P. Hersey & K. Blanchard, 1988), which appeared to be an accurate predictor of adaptability and valid for use in Taiwan. The final part of this study was an investigation of whether successful companies were more likely to have a greater percentage of adaptive leaders than unsuccessful companies. The data supported this expectation, although it is suggested that caution be used in the interpretation of this particular finding because it could have several different explanations. Overall, the evidence supported the value of adaptive leadership styles in high-technology industries in Taiwan.

A test of the path‐goal leadership theory in Taiwan

The path‐goal theory of leadership states that the leader helps subordinates to achieve their goals by providing a clear path for them to follow. This research project used data collected in Taiwan to test the applicability of this theory in a non‐western culture. The three groups of subjects studied (peers, managers and subordinates), perceived the level of task structure to be equivalent. Three aspects of leadership were measured: instrumental, supportive and participative leadership. Leaders reported that they used each style of leadership at a statistical significantly higher level than their peers believed. Two dimensions of motivation were also considered: efforts that lead to performance and efforts that lead to rewards. Overall, the results provide some support for the path‐goal theory of leadership. The theory was supported for the relationship between managers and subordinates but not supported for the relationship between managers and peers.

Situational leadership theory in Taiwan: a different culture perspective

Reports a study to investigate the applicability of situational leadership theory within the Republic of China (Taiwan). The study was conducted in a large construction company with a broad diversity of managerial responsibilities. The LEAD‐Self instrument was given to a large sample of managers, to determine their perception of their own leadership style. Employees completed the LEAD‐Other questionnaire, to give their perceptions of their manager. Productivity scores were also established for each manager using measures of absenteeism, turnover, overall profitability and quality of work. The results indicated that the situational leadership theory does have applicability in Taiwan; there was a good match between the self‐perception of leaders and perceptions by peers, superiors and subordinates and between the LEAD‐Self score and LEAD‐Other; also that leadership adaptability was directly related to productivity as measured by absenteeism, turnover rates, profitability and, to a lesser extent, quality.

Attribution of personal characteristics as a function of the degree of touch on initial contact and sex

The current study was designed to measure the effects of degree of touch on initial contact on interpersonal judgment. Subjects (60 male and 60 female) reporting for an experiment on interpersonal judgment were met by the experimenter and another subject. The second subject was in fact a confederate. As the “subjects” were introduced, the confederate responded in one of three ways: a nod of the head (no touch); a firm handshake; or a firm handshake accompanied by a squeeze on the subjects right upper arm by the confederates left hand. Half of the subjects met a male and half met a female confederate. Subjects were then placed in separate cubicles and asked to complete the Byrne interpersonal judgment questionnaire about the person they had just briefly met. This scale has six items (intelligence, knowledge of current events, morality, personal feelings, participation in experiments, and adjustment) for same-sex pairs and four additional items for opposite-sex pairs (dating, marriage, physical and sexual attraction). The results indicated that the variations in the type of initial contact between subject and confederate resulted in several significantly different interpersonal judgments. Of particular interest was the finding that a male confederate greeting a female subject was viewed as a more acceptable marriage partner the more touch was invoved in the initial contact. A female confederate greeting a male subject was viewed as a less acceptable marriage partner the more touch that was involved. The degree of touch also affected judgments of knowledge of current events, adjustment, dating, and physical attraction. Typically, the more touch, the higher the rating for the male confederate, whereas the female confederate was typically rated highest on the nod or handshake plus the additional touch to the arm, and least when she simply shook hands. The relevance of these findings to first impressions and role stereotyping are discussed.

The Effects of Heckling and Media of Presentation on the Impact of a Persuasive Communication

Distraction has been suggested as a mechanism which will facilitate attitude change. Heckling is a standard procedure used by members of society to distract from the content of a speech. The current study presented a persuasive message to six groups of students. Three of these groups received the message straight, while the other three groups received the message with heckling. A second variable, the medium of presentation, was utilized so that one group in each of the two presentation procedures received either a live presentation, a video presentation, or an audio presentation. The results indicate that the message was effective in changing attitudes. However, when the speech was heckled, the message elicited no attitude change. Further, the audio presentation was more effective than both the video and the live presentation. The results were interpreted in terms of distraction theory and media effects.

The Effects of Competition and Cooperation on Level of Prejudice.

Summary This study investigated the effects on prejudice of either a cooperative or competitive strategy adopted by either a white or a black partner. It indicated that involvement in a game situation led to a reduction in prejudice when a white S had a white partner who cooperated or competed, or a black partner who cooperated. If the black partner competed, however, there was a statistically nonsignificant increase in prejudice. Further, Ss tended to imitate the strategy of their partner. The results were considered in relation to the general effect of competition and cooperation in society.