Edward E. Lawler

Creating high performance organizations

The relationship between people and the organizations they work for is changing. Corporations no longer can offer the job security and career paths they used to. A new relationship needs to be developed that rewards performance and skills in ways that contribute to organizational effectiveness.

Expectancy theory and job behavior

Abstract Job attitude and behavior data were collected over the period of a year for 69 managers in a retail sales organization. Expectancy attitudes were found to be significantly related to some measures of effort and performance. However, weighting expectancy attitudes by valence measures did not increase the ability of expectancy attitudes to predict behavior. Crosslagged correlational analyses were done, but they provided little support for the view that expectancy attitudes cause performance. Ability and role perception measures were combined with the expectancy measures in order to predict performance, and this led to a significant multiple correlation with performance. The implications of these findings for the further development and testing of expectancy theory are discussed.

Organizational climate: Relationship to organizational structure, process and performance☆

Abstract The present study was designed to test the view that organization structure and process are related to organizational climate which in turn is related to organization performance and employee job satisfaction. Questionnaires were completed by the directors of 117 research and development organizations and by 291 scientists in a subsample of 21 of these organizations. Results showed that several organizational process variables (but no structural variables) were significantly related to the climate of the organization as perceived by scientists. Perceived climate in turn was shown to be significantly related to measures of organizational performance and to job satisfaction.

Total quality-oriented human resources management

Human resources holds the key to sustained quality improvement. Consequently, the HRM department can potentially play a critical role in an organizations TQM effort. Toactually do so, the HRM Department must: (1) Be a first-class, quality organization itself. It can accomplish this by applying TQM principles to its own internal operations; and (2) Design HRM practices for the entire organization that support a total quality-orientation. We describe how selection, training, reward systems, and so on, can be changed to help implement the TQM effort.

Doing research that is useful for theory and practice

Part 1 Doing Useful Research: An Introduction to the Issues Chapter 2 Challenging Traditional Research Assumptions Chapter 3 Why Our Old Pictures of the World Do Not Work Anymore Part 4 Alternative Approaches to Doing Useful Organizational Issues in Doing Usefull Research Chapter 5 Institutional and Organizational Issues in Doing Useful Research Chapter 6 Making Knowledge More relevant to Practice: Maps for Action Chapter 7 Doing research That Makes a Difference Chapter 8 Strategies with Dual Relevance Chapter 9 Contextualist research: A Natural Way to LInk Chapter 10 Organizational Desighn for the Future: A Collaborative Research Approach Part 11 Comparing Research Approaches Chapter 12 Critical Issues in Doing research That Contributes to Theory and Practice Chapter 13 Appendix: Questions for Chapter Authors

Total quality management: practice and outcomes in the largest US firms

The application of TQM practices has rapidly increased in US organizations over the past six years, particularly in organizations facing severe competitive pressures. A survey of the 1,000 largest companies shows that these practices fall into two main categories: core practices and production‐oriented practices. Companies perceive benefit in three areas: improvement of work performance, company competitiveness and profitability, and employee outcomes. Service organizations experience these benefits primarily from implementing core practices more extensively. Competitiveness and profitability in manufacturing organizations are positively affected by the implementation of the production‐oriented practices. Analysis of financial outcomes suggests that core practices are positively related to market share for manufacturing companies. Production‐oriented practices are positively related to return on equity and collaboration with suppliers in quality efforts is positively related to total factor productivity i...

Job choice and post decision dissonance

The job choice and post decision attitudes and behavior of 431 accounting students were studied. Data on the attractiveness of working for different firms was shown to be a good predictor of both the job application and the job choice behavior of the individuals. Data collected after the job choice decision was made showed that the chosen firms increased in attractiveness after choice and the rejected firms decreased. After one year of employment, the subjects rated all firms lower in attractiveness than they had before they applied for jobs. It was concluded that attitudes toward firm attractiveness determine job choice behavior and that job choice behavior influences post employment attitudes about firm attractiveness.

Quality circles: After the honeymoon

he strengths and weaknesses of quality circles, a widely practiced approach to improving organizational performance, have appeared in numerous articles. Both critics and proponents agree that quality circles are typically characterized by a successful start-up or honeymoon period; the initial circles are characterized by high levels of enthusiasm and tend to produce a number of good suggestions. Problems with quality circles typically develop after they become an organizationwide activity, when an effort is made to sustain them over several years. We’re going to review several reasons why quality circles typically are difficult to sustain and then look at approaches that deal with the institutionalization and maintenance problems associated with quality circles.

Performance appraisal revisited

Abstract : This report examines a series of studies concerned with performance appraisal effectiveness. It identifies those conditions which are associated with effective appraisals and the relationship between such things as pay discussions and performance appraisal effectiveness.

Job Characteristics and Pressures and the Organizational Integration of Professionals.

Job characteristics and three job pressures were examined in 22 research and development laboratories as possible correlates of organizational effectiveness and the need satisfactions and job involvement of researchers in the laboratories. Job challenge and responsibility for dealing with customers were related to quality pressure and to financial responsibility pressure. Job challenge was also related to need satisfaction. Quality pressure, a professional concern, and financial responsibility pressure, an organizational concern, were both related to organizational performance. Quality pressure was also related to job involvement, so that this pressure was functional for both the individual and the organization. Financial responsibility pressure was seen as the professionals adaptation to organizational values.