Greg J. Sears

What women and ethnic minorities want. Work values and labor market confidence: a self-determination perspective

Drawing on self-determination theory and the model-minority hypothesis, this study explored potential differences in the work values and labor market perceptions of ethnic minorities and women relative to the majority group. Results, based on a sample of senior-level university students across Canada, revealed notable differences in the work values and levels of labor market confidence for these groups. Ethnic minorities reported higher intrinsic, extrinsic, social, and altruistic work values than Whites. Moreover, women reported lower intrinsic values, but higher extrinsic, social, and altruistic work values relative to men. With respect to perceptions of labor market confidence, both ethnic minorities and women expressed lower confidence in their labor market prospects than majority group respondents. Results from this study are consistent with self-determination theory and the model-minority hypothesis, and reinforce the need for organizations to more actively align their job design and recruitment efforts with the work values of minority workers. Implications for future research and the recruitment of minority workers are discussed.

The influence of role definition and affect in LMX: A process perspective on the personality – LMX relationship

While leader–member exchange (LMX) theorists have argued that role definition and affective processes play a central role in LMX development, research has yet to examine their relative influence. Likewise, few studies have investigated how the personality of leader and follower play out in these processes. Drawing on a sample of 161 managers and their respective leaders, we develop and offer empirical support for a model in which leader and subordinate agreeableness and core self-evaluations wield their respective influence through the affective and role definition processes underlying LMX. Implications of these findings for the theory and practice of LMX are discussed.

The effect of adverse impact in selection practices on organizational diversity: a field study

Based on a sample of 154 organizations across Canada, we examined the influence of the use of different employee selection methods on workplace minority representation rates. Results indicated that usage of cognitive ability and personality testing significantly influences minority representation after controlling for other diversity management practices. In particular, cognitive ability testing appears to be associated with lower levels of minority group representation in organizations as a whole and in their management ranks; personality testing is associated with higher levels of minority representation in organizations. To advance our understanding of the organizational factors that influence minority group representation and the use of different selection practices, we also examined HR manager perceptions of test bias and the effects of employment equity (EEA) legislation on selection test usage. Results indicated that firms covered under employment equity legislation were less likely to use cognitive ability tests. Interestingly, HR managers reported that personality tests may be more biased against minorities than cognitive ability tests. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

The glass ceiling in context: the influence of CEO gender, recruitment practices and firm internationalisation on the representation of women in management

This study examines macro-level organisational determinants of women in management. Specifically, we examined organisational characteristics and strategies, including firm levels of internationalisation, firm foreign ownership, chief executive officer gender and the active recruitment of women, as predictors of an organisations level of representation of women in management. Results from a survey of 278 firms indicated that the presence of a female chief executive officer and an organisations active recruitment of women are positively associated with a firms percentage of women in management while firm internationalisation and firm foreign ownership are negatively associated with the representation of women in management. Overall, these findings suggest that although firms exercise discretion with respect to hiring and promoting women, they are also constrained by the external environment and organisational characteristics. For example, firms with higher levels of firm internationalisation and that are foreign-owned may limit their efforts and investment in the advancement of women into management.

Toward Representative Bureaucracy Predicting Public Service Attraction Among Underrepresented Groups in Canada

To deliver truly representative and effective democratic governance, a public service (PS) should employ individuals from diverse backgrounds throughout its workforce. In the Canadian government, patterns of underrepresentation persist for each of the four employment equity (EE) groups. This study explores three questions: First, are there differences between the four EE groups in terms of their attraction to jobs in the public sector? Second, what are key work values that predict PS attraction? Third, do EE groups differ in terms of these key work values? Based on a large-scale survey of more than 12,000 final-year Canadian postsecondary students, results indicate that women, Aboriginals, and persons with disabilities report higher levels of PS attraction than visible minorities. Work values such as job security, commitment to social responsibility, benefits, and commitment to diversity were strongly associated with PS attraction, and EE groups differed in their evaluations of the relative importance of these work values.

Revisiting the “give and take” in LMX: Exploring equity sensitivity as a moderator of the influence of LMX on affiliative and change-oriented OCB

Purpose Drawing on principles of social exchange and equity theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between employee reports of leader-member exchange (LMX) and two types of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB): affiliative and change-oriented OCB. Further, equity sensitivity, a dispositional variable reflecting one’s tendency to “give” or “take” in their interpersonal interactions, was tested as a moderator of these effects. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from a sample of 240 manufacturing employees in China and their respective supervisors. Multilevel analyses were conducted to test the hypothesized effects. Findings LMX was found to be positively associated with affiliative, but not change-oriented OCB. Equity sensitivity moderated these relationships, such that LMX was positively associated with both types of OCB when employees are benevolent, but not when they are entitled. Research limitations/implications Given the different pattern of relationships that were observed between LMX and affiliative vs change-oriented OCB, the results suggest that LMX may differentially influence these two types of OCB. Future studies should continue to explore the role of dispositional traits in moderating the effects of LMX, including less desirable (“negative”) traits. Originality/value Very few studies have examined the role of dispositional variables in moderating the effects of LMX. Consistent with principles of the social exchange and equity theory, the results suggest that LMX will only be associated with OCB when employees are benevolent (i.e. they are “givers”), and not when they are entitled (i.e. they are “getters”).

Independent and Joint Effects of Personality on Intentions to Become an Active Participant in Local Union Activities in Canada

ABSTRACT Drawing on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this field study (N = 282) investigates the impact of two focal personality traits, extraversion and conscientiousness, on employees’ attitudes and intentions to actively participate in their local union. Consistent with the TPB, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and attitudes toward participation each explained unique variance in union participation intentions. Furthermore, results revealed that extraversion was positively related, and conscientiousness was negatively related to participation intentions, with attitudes toward participation mediating these effects. A significant interaction between extraversion and conscientiousness was also observed, such that introverted workers higher in conscientiousness were less inclined to express positive attitudes toward union participation. Overall, these results provide support for the utility of the TPB in predicting union participation intentions and highlight the vital role that personality traits may play in determining union participation attitudes and intentions.