Dan Jacobson

Structure of security beliefs among Israeli students

This is an explorative study designed to assess the structure of security beliefs among Israeli university students (N = 458). The study employed a combination of openended and closed questions. By and large, the results support the notion that security beliefs have a multidimensional basis. Thus, insecurity-inducing situations are differentiated into those rooted in the collective experience on the one hand, and those related to personal experiences on the other. However, regression analyses reveal that it is the latter, rather than the former, that produce the highest effect in terms of explained variance. The present study suggests that future research into security beliefs should explore their status as a cultural master symbol and the implications thereof. Further research in this direction seems necessary if one accepts that any future peace settlement in the Middle East will have to take into account the fears of the Israeli people and alleviate their feelings of insecurity.

Intraparty Dissensus and Interparty Conflict Resolution

In replicating an experimental design originally tested in a simulated intraorganiza tional bargaining setting, four combinations of bargaining patterns were employed in a laboratory simulation in which interrelated aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute over the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were negotiated. The principal objective was to test the effect of intraparty consensus-dissensus bargaining patterns with extremist-moderate position intensities on the outcomes of interparty negotiations between Arab and Jewish students. Two hypotheses were tested: (1) Intraparty differences, if manifested openly by both parties (bilateral dissensus), would generate more points of agreement, and a greater number of integrative outcomes, than bilateral consensus and unilateral dissensus; (2) a party which exposes its internal differences between moderates and extremists to an adversary that presents a unanimous and extremist strategy would tend to be dominated. Results confirmed the first hypothesis but failed to yield clear-cut support for the second. An attempt is made to explain and discuss the implications of these results in the context of the Middle East conflict.

Propensity to retire among older executives

Abstract Determinants of a favorable attitude toward retirement were sought in an interview study of 179 top executives, Age 55 and over in 13 leading Israeli organizations. Relationships between desire to retire and variables known to be associated with labor turnover and with retirement attitudes among blue-collar workers were examined by correlation and multiple regression analysis. It was found that relatively older executives who felt young, healthy, and effective, were most likely to prefer to go on working. Contrary to expectation, features of the job had relatively weak relationships to attitudes toward retirement. Attitude towards retirement appears to be associated more closely with feelings about oneself than with perceptions of the job. Differences between retirement and other types of withdrawal from the job were discussed.

A STUDY ON THE LEADERSHIP BELIEFS OF ISRAELI MANAGERS

The article presents a comparative study on the leadership beliefs of Israeli managers. Study examines factors that affect the shaping of managerial values and role behavior. Also discussed is the ...

Celebrating good-bye: Functional components in farewell parties for retiring employees in Israel

Abstract This article describes an explorative attempt to generate a preliminary typology of the functions farewell parties fulfill for retiring employees and for the organizations they are about to leave. On-site observations of 14 parties in four Israeli organizations suggest that these secular rituals, marking the imminent rupture of long-standing social and organizational bonds, provide the retiree with an essential support mechanism or coping resource helping him or her weather the role transition with its attendant affective and cognitive adaptational stresses. At the same time, farewell parties can also be seen as serving explicit and implicit organizational goals by clarifying appropriate codes of behavior, reinforcing the commitment of younger workers to the organization, providing relevant information and enhancing the organization s reputation as an “enlightened” employer. While the present study focused mainly on the intended functional and integrative messages conveyed by means of the rituals studied, it is suggested that future research efforts be devoted to the assessment of their actual effects including the dysfunctional and negative ones.