G. Stoney Alder

Electronic Performance Monitoring An Organizational Justice and Concertive Control Perspective

An estimated 26 million workers are electronically monitored by organizations. Contradictory evidence indicates that such monitoring may lead to either positive or negative outcomes for both organizations and their members. This article applies theories of organizational justice and concertive control to account for these contradictions. It is argued that, when organizations involve employees in the design and implementation of monitoring systems, restrict monitoring to performance-related activities, and use data obtained through electronic means in a concertive manner by emphasizing two-way communication and supportive feedback, they are likely to reap positive results. However, when employees are not involved in the introduction of monitoring, when data gathered through electronic performance monitoring are used to provide coercive, obtrusive feedback, or when monitoring includes nonwork activities, the organization may experience negative results.

Employee reactions to electronic performance monitoring: A consequence of organizational culture

Abstract Research recognizes that reactions to monitoring may be moderated by several factors, but ignores the role of organizational culture. This paper argues that bureaucratic cultures will respond more favorably to monitoring than supportive cultures. Involving employees in designing the system, monitoring groups, and restricting monitoring to performance-related activities may improve attitudes toward monitoring in supportive cultures.

Managing environmental uncertainty with legitimate authority: A comparative analysis of the Mann gulch and storm king mountain fires

Abstract This paper uses the Mann Gulch and Storm King Mountain fire disasters as a beginning point to analyze organizational crises. Several of the human factors that contributed to both disasters are identified, and the point is made that similar factors most likely contribute to other organizational crises. It is argued that the lack of legitimate authority impaired the crews’ ability to overcome disaster. Underlying this is a lack of common experience, communication, and interaction. Based on this analysis of the Mann Gulch and Storm King Mountain fires, practical recommendations for enhancing organizations’ ability to effectively cope with crisis and environmental uncertainty are offered.

The Effects of Unstructured Group Discussion on Ethical Judgment.

The authors examine the effects of shared information and group discussion on ethical judgment when no structure is imposed on the discussion to encourage ethical considerations. Discussants were asked to identify arguments for and against a variety of business behaviors with ethical implications. A group moderator solicited and recorded arguments for and against the behaviors but provided no evaluation of the arguments presented or the behaviors described. Discussion group subjects were significantly less critical of profit-driven business behaviors than a control group, and were also less critical of self-interest-driven behaviors when those behaviors did not appear to adversely affect profits.