Constance R. Campbell

An Integrative Attributional Perspective of Empowerment and Learned Helplessness: A Multimethod Field Study

A multimethod study was conducted to explore the relationship between empowerment and Learned Helplessness (LH). Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to examine the attributions, expectancies, affect, and behaviors associated with empowerment and LH. Thematic, nonparametric, and parametric analyses of interview, questionnaire, and observational data indicated reliable and reciprocal differences between empowered and LH individuals regardless of the method used for measuring the data. Implications of the results and refinements to theories of empowerment and LH are discussed.

Leadership, management, and derailment

Purpose – This paper examines the relationship among leadership skills, management skills and individual success and failure in formal organizations.Design/methodology/approach – A model is presented depicting the interactive relationship among the three variables and explaining why some high potential employees suffer derailment while other individuals with similar skills continue to develop and achieve organizational success.Findings – The model indicates that there is not one combination of management and leadership skills related to individual success.Practical implications – Developmental activities should be ongoing regardless of the individuals level in the organization.Originality/value – This paper synthesizes several streams of research into a coherent model that can be used as a guide for leadership development activities.

Psychological Climate: Relevance for Sales Managers and Impact on Consequent Job Satisfaction

This article examines the relationship between sales managers’ perceptions of the psychological climate of the organization and their overall job satisfaction. The study was conducted through a questionnaire mailed to a nationwide sample of sales managers in a variety of industries. The study found that sales managers who perceive high levels of autonomy and cohesion in the psychological climate of their companies have high levels of job satisfaction. Perceived pressure is negatively related to overall job satisfaction. The results suggest that companies need to ensure that the sales managers’ perceptions of the psychological climate of the firm are positive in order to ensure sales manager job satisfaction.

A Longitudinal Study of One OrganizationÕs Culture: Do Values Endure?

Organizational members responded to four open‐ended questions about the organization’s culture at two times, six years apart. Results of a content analysis of the responses indicated that organizational values remained stable, despite extensive changes in the top leadership of the organization coupled with environmental forces that were pushing for change in the organization’s culture. The categories of responses that emerged from the survey were explored and discussed as depictions of the organization’s culture.

Cheating Goes Hi-Tech: Online Term Paper Mills:

As part of the explosive growth in usage of the Internet, an increasing number of vendors are using this medium to make term papers available for students to purchase. This article provides information for management and organizational behavior faculty with regard to the availability of term papers for sale to students over the Internet. A sampling of term paper providers, along with the services they offer and their price structures, are given. Examples of paper titles that are specifically targeted toward management and organizational behavior are also provided. The article concludes with suggestions for ways in which instructors can deal with the proliferation of term paper providers.

Gender Differences in Self-Attributions: Relationship of Gender to Attributional Consistency, Style, and Expectations for Performance in a College Course.

Results are reported for a study of collegestudents that examined gender differences in theconsistency of attributions over time, in generalattributional style, and in specific explanations forperformance in a course. Both genders demonstratedconsistency over time. There was no difference ingeneral attributional style by gender, and there was nodifference in specific attributions for courseperformance by gender combined with accuracy in predictingperformance. However, there was a difference in theexplanations for performance selected by men versuswomen and in the explanations for performance selected by those students who accurately predictedtheir own performance versus inaccurate predictors. Thesample was comprised of 113 men and 94 women; mostly inthe 21 to 24 age range (108), followed by the 17 to 20 age range (78), the 24 to 27 range (16),27 to 30 range (3) and the older than 30 range (2). Thesample was mostly Caucasian (176), followed by Asian(13), African American (8), Hispanic (7), Other (2), and missing data (1). Most students werebusiness majors (180), with 21 other majors and 6missing data. Implications of these results arediscussed in this article.

On the journey toward wholeness in leader theories

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a holistic intra‐individual perspective on leaders, which focuses on four components of the inner person of the leader; Being, Cognition, Spirituality, and Emotion, and on the observable components of Behavior and Relationships.Design/methodology/approach – Existing leadership literature is appraised within the context of the model. Previously‐proposed interrelationships among the components are enumerated. The paper suggests implications of the model regarding research content and methodology as well as leader development.Findings – The model implies that all components should be included in research and that interrelationships among components should be explored. Also implied is the use of methodological pluralism.Practical implications – Leaders should attend to all components in the model in their self‐development efforts.Originality/value – The paper takes an unusual approach to understanding leadership: an individual‐level holistic perspective.

Perceptions of Compressed Video Distance Learning (DL) Across Location and Levels of Instruction in Business Courses

In this article, the authors compared student perceptions about distance learning (DL) across location, type of business course, and level of instruction. Results indicated that there were no differences in student perceptions based on type of course or level of instruction. Onsite students found the DL classroom more distracting than did remote location students, and the lack of alternative course delivery formats was more relevant to remote than to onsite students. All students were more satisfied than dissatisfied with the DL experience.

The Politics of Emotion: Exploring Emotional Labor and Political Skill across Job Types within the IT/IS Profession

In this study we examined the relationship between two interpersonal constructs, emotional labor and political skill, finding that they are related. People who possess high levels of political skill and people who perceive high expectations to express positive emotions at work are likely to make efforts to internalize their display of positive emotions through deep acting. People who perceive high expectations to suppress negative emotions at work are likely to engage in superficial displays of emotion through surface acting. We then examined whether these relationships held across job types within the IT/IS industry, an understudied industry with regard to either emotional labor or political skill. We found that perceptions of positive display rules and levels of political skill differed by job type, but that perceptions of negative display rules, surface acting and deep acting did not. In particular, analysts and managers have higher perceptions of positive display rules and higher levels of political skill than do programmers and technical support personnel. These findings encourage further research on the relationship between emotional labor and political skill, along with further comparisons of emotional labor and political skill across job types within a single industry. The findings also suggest that emotional labor capabilities and level of political skill be a consideration when selecting and matching IT/IS personnel to particular job types. Once IT/IS personnel are hired, the findings of this study indicate that development programs for them should include training that will increase their emotional labor capabilities and their level of political skill.