Erich C. Fein

Age cohort effects, gender, and Romanian leadership preferences

Purpose – This study aims to examine preferences for both transformational and transactional leadership behavior for gender‐ and age‐based cohort differences. The purpose of this research is to enhance leadership and organizational change initiatives in Romania via the identification of age cohort and gender effects with respect to attitudes towards common leadership behaviors.Design/methodology/approach – The research is conducted via a survey through the administration of questionnaires. The sample consists of 324 managers from commercial and service organizations in Romania, a country in which this issue has not previously been investigated.Findings – The findings reveal that there are differences in preferences for leadership behavior based on age cohorts that reached maturity before or after the fall of Ceausescu during the 1989 revolution. Also, female participants displayed a greater preference for transformational leadership behaviors relative to transactional leadership behaviors.Originality/valu...

Personality Predictors of Behavioral Self-Regulation: Linking Behavioral Self-Regulation to Five-Factor Model Factors, Facets, and a Compound Trait

This study examined relationships between a composite of several facet-level traits within the five-factor model (FFM) of personality and outcomes across 3 phases of behavioral self-regulation. The goal of this research was to investigate the potential of the compound trait approach as an alternative to predicting self-regulatory outcomes based on the full FFM, conscientiousness or other FFM factor-level traits, or any individual facet-level trait within the FFM. These relationships were investigated using a sample of 312 participants completing both goal-related questionnaires and a decision task designed to simulate aspects of self-regulated performance within organizations. Consistent with hypotheses, the collection of traits within the composite assertiveness, activity, achievement striving, deliberation, dutifulness, self-discipline, and ideas performed as well or better than any single factor or facet of the FFM. The future research and practice implications for goal propensity, a compound trait related to all phases of behavioral self-regulation, are discussed.

Relationships between ethical climate, justice perceptions, and LMX

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of ethical climate and organizational justice perceptions on the quality of manager‐employee relationships via leader‐member exchange (LMX). It also aims to explore differences between distributive justice, procedural justice, and interactional justice perceptions as related to LMX. The purpose of this research was to investigate the relative strength of connections between ethical climate, these three types of justice perceptions, and LMX.Design/methodology/approach – The research was conducted via survey administration of questionnaires. The sample consisted of 105 working adults in an Israeli telecommunications company.Findings – It was found that there was a significant positive relationship between perceived interactional justice and levels of LMX. No significant relationships were present between LMX and the other types of justice perceptions. Furthermore, it was discovered that there was a significant positive relationship between ethical...

The Consequences of Transfer of Training for Service Quality and Job Satisfaction: An Empirical Study in the Malaysian Public Sector

The significance of transfer of training to organizations has been acknowledged by many studies. However, the consequences of transfer of training, particularly for employees, have still not been adequately explored. The present study was conducted to address this gap. Specifically, it explores the relationship among transfer of training, service quality and job satisfaction. Data for this study were collected through surveys of employees, their supervisors and their colleagues. Data were analysed using structural equation modeling. The findings reveal that transfer of training is positively and significantly associated with both service quality and job satisfaction.

Downsizing: Human motivation and performance outcomes in the context of downsizing

Downsizing has become a fact of life throughout the world. The term downsizing has come to mean terminating employees when the organization is still viable and has work for employees to do.

Goal Propensity: Understanding and Predicting Individual Differences in Motivation

This chapter proposes the development of a compound personality trait termed “goal propensity”. Motivation is a key determinant of performance in virtually all contexts, and personality has long been viewed as an important influence on motivation. Despite the long history of exploring how personality influences motivation, we do not have a clear understanding of the linkage between individual differences in personality and work motivation or the tools to reliably and accurately predict individual differences in motivation. Advances in our understanding of personality and the convergence of motivation theories around models of self-regulation present the opportunity to achieve that understanding and predictive efficacy. Goal propensity would be a theoretically derived trait that would explain the role of personality in self-regulation models of motivation as well as allow the prediction of tendencies to engage in self-regulation. This chapter provides the rationale for the development of this construct, articulates the nature of the proposed goal propensity construct, and explores the value of such a construct for theory, future research, and human resource practice.

Clarifying the effect of work hours on health through work–life conflict

Previous research on the relationship between work hours and health has produced inconclusive findings, which may be related to the use of predominantly male samples. This paper examines the relationship between work hours and health in a national Australian sample (Australian Work + Life Index) of men and women. We examine total work hours across major occupational groups and find differences in health outcomes related to gender. In addition, our findings provide important insights into the pathway through which work hours impact health. Specifically, we offer compelling evidence that work–life conflict functions as a pathway through which total work hours impact health outcomes. The results of this study suggest that human resource management practitioners pay further attention to interventions that enable workers to more successfully manage the energy exchange between work and non-work domains. We also review several related pathways by which human resource managers may reduce employee work–life conflict.

Raising the curtain: Exploring dancers' perceptions of obligation through the psychological contract lens

The current study takes an exploratory approach to investigate which situational factors influence perceptions of psychological contracts, as well as the content that comprises psychological contracts in the dance training industry. Semi-structured interviews (n = 10) were conducted with students enrolled in a higher education institution in Australia. Results indicated that intending dancers take several factors into consideration when contemplating a professional dance career: natural progression of skill, employment opportunities, location, and peer recommendation. In addition, intending dancers have several perceived institutional obligations: skill development, quality of teachers and training, and networking opportunities. The current article adds novel insights to dance education literature by considering the trainee–institution relationship through the psychological contract lens. It is anticipated that the findings will assist future research that seeks to incorporate student perceptions into dance curriculum development.

Constructive Deviance, Leader-Member Exchange, and Confidence in Appraisal: How Do They Interrelate, if at All?

This study examined connections between elements of Leader-Member-Exchange (LMX) relationships, trust and confidence in performance appraisal processes, and constructive deviant behavior. The sample consisted of 120 members of a large public service organization. The results support positive connections between the constructs of LMX, confidence in appraisal processes, and constructive deviant behaviors. However, when predicting constructive deviance we found no difference in using confidence in appraisal processes as a single predictor compared to using both confidence in appraisal and LMX. The implications of these results are discussed, and we offer several suggestions for developing research programs dealing with the intersection of LMX, confidence in appraisal processes, and constructive deviant behavior in organizations.

Self-Determination Theory and Academic Life

Contemporary scholarship is replete with accounts and analyses of the challenges and complexities of current academic life. Much of this scholarship sounds alarm bells – even clarion calls – with regard to the sustainability and value of academics’ work. For example, Olson (2013) lamented that “Academe is often plagued by inexcusably rude and uncollegial behaviour” (p. 1) and that “This culture of incivility is becoming ubiquitous” (p. 1).