Ian R. Gellatly

A Comparison of Linear and Nonlinear Relations between Organizational Commitment and Work Outcomes

The authors compared linear and nonlinear relations between affective and continuance commitment and 3 commonly studied work outcomes (turnover cognitions, absenteeism, and job performance), observed in 3 separate research settings. Using a linear model, they replicated the common observation in the literature that affective commitment is more strongly related to work outcomes than continuance commitment. Introducing a higher order continuance commitment term into the same equations, however, they found that the linear model seriously understated the magnitude of continuance commitments effect on all 3 criterion measures. These findings are consistent with recent developments that identify different motivational mindsets associated with affective and continuance commitment (J. P. Meyer, T. E. Becker, & C. Vandenberghe, 2004).

Personality, Autonomy, and Contextual Performance of Managers

In a sample of 79 public-sector managers, we examined relations between personality (extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness), job autonomy, and contextual performance, and tested the moderating role of autonomy on personality-performance relations. Criterion data were provided by supervisors using the relative percentile method (RPM). Moderated regression analyses revealed positive relations between autonomy on contextual performance, and positive relations between both extroversion and agreeableness and the criterion when job autonomy was high. Negative relations were found between conscientiousness and contextual performance, and between agreeableness and the criterion when autonomy was low. We interpreted and discussed these bidirectional findings within the context of job and organizational demands.

The effects of goal difficulty on physiological arousal, cognition, and task performance.

Two laboratory experiments with 117 undergraduate students were conducted to examine (a) the effect of assigned goal difficulty on arousal (self-report and heart rate), cognition (perceived norm, self-efficacy strength, and personal goal), and behavioral (task performance) measures and (b) the role of heart rate as a mediator of the goal-difficulty-performance relation. All Ss performed a task requiring cognitive and physical responses. Results of both experiments demonstrated that assigned goal difficulty affected heart rate, cognition, and task performance and that heart-rate change was positively related to the cognitive and behavioral measures. Regression analyses suggested that a cognitive-affective mechanism may mediate the goal-difficulty-performance relation. Discussion is focused on the theoretical and practical implications of integrating an arousal concept within goal-setting theory.

HRM Practices and Organizational Commitment Profiles

In this study, we examined how employee perceptions of development-oriented, stability-oriented, and reward-oriented human resource management (HRM) practices affected the likelihood of affective and continuance commitment profile membership. Our focus on profiles of combined commitment components is a departure from a literature dominated by studies of the separate forms of employee commitment. Drawing from self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan 2000) we described the nature of the psychological states believed to underlie the specific profiles under investigation, then tested a series of theoretical predictions concerning the link between HRM practices and the likelihood of profile membership. Predictor and criterion data for this study were collected from 317 respondents working in a variety of Canadian-based organizations. Our findings suggest ways that organizations can use HRM practices strategically to help shape the nature of overall employee commitment.

Staff nurse commitment, work relationships, and turnover intentions: a latent profile analysis.

BackgroundThe three-component model of organization commitment has typically been studied using a variable-centered rather than a person-centered approach, preventing a more complete understanding of how these forms of commitment are felt and expressed as a whole. ObjectivesLatent profile analysis was used to identify qualitatively distinct categories or profiles of staff nurses’ commitment. Then, associations of the profiles with perceived work unit relations and turnover intentions were examined. MethodsThree hundred thirty-six registered nurses provided data on affective, normative, and continuance commitment, perceived work unit relations, and turnover intentions. Latent profile analysis of the nurses’ commitment scores revealed six distinct profile groups. Work unit relations and turnover intentions were compared in the six profile-defined groups. ResultsStaff nurses with profiles characterized by high affective commitment and/or high normative commitment in relation to other components experienced stronger work unit relations and reported lower turnover intentions. Profiles characterized by high continuance commitment relative to other components or by low overall commitment experienced poorer work unit relations, and the turnover risk was higher. High continuance commitment in combination with high affective and normative commitment was experienced differently than high continuance commitment in combination with low affective and normative commitment. DiscussionHealthcare organizations often foster commitment by using continuance commitment-enhancing strategies (e.g., offer high salaries and attractive benefits) that may inadvertently introduce behavioral risk. This work suggests the importance of changing the context in which continuance commitment occurs by strengthening the other two components.

The Use of Random Coefficient Modeling for Understanding and Predicting Job Performance Ratings: An Application With Field Data

Earlier research using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) suggests that most variance in job performance ratings is not attributable to ratee main effects. In this article, the authors point out several issues associated with CFA methodology and argue that random coefficient modeling (RCM) can be a useful alternative for estimating variances associated with ratee main effects, rater main effects, and the upper bound of Rater × Ratee interaction effects. Using an application of RCM on field data, the authors found that rater main effects variance was nearly two times as large as ratee main effects variance. They report meaningful contingencies of these findings by modeling rater familiarity with the ratee and the number of ratees rated by a rater. Finally, interactions revealed that Conscientiousness-related variables were positively related to job performance only when rater familiarity with the ratee was high or the number of ratees rated was high. The authors discuss how the RCM methodology can be used to assess the construct validity of job performance ratings and to test substantive hypotheses involving variance components, main effects, and interactions within nonindependent observations.

Exit-Voice and Employee Absenteeism: A Critique of the Industrial Relations Literature

Industrial relations research that has examined the effects of collective voice on employee absenteeism through traditional exit-voice analyses suffers from a number of important theoretical and empirical limitations. The research is limited theoretically in that the framework used cannot discretely classify absenteeism as a form of either exit or voice. This inability reflects a larger problem with the exit-voice framework’s lack of adequate attention to the conditions under which collective voice mechanisms fail and the consequences of such failure for the behavior of industrial relations actors. Exit-voice studies of absenteeism have important methodological problems, particularly in the way absenteeism and voice criteria have been operationalized. These defects in the literature can be addressed through the integration of behavioral theory and research on such topics as absenteeism, exit, voice, loyalty and neglect, and the literature on organizational justice.

Group mate absence, dissimilarity, and individual absence: Another look at “monkey see, monkey do”

In this study, we examined whether the alignment of individual and group absence depended on an individuals similarity or dissimilarity with his or her group mates. The study hypotheses were tested with organizational data, involving 1382 employees from 181 work groups. Our criterion was individual absence frequency, observed over a 12-month period. Dissimilarity indices fororganizational tenure and union affiliation were computed from organizational records. We found that the relation between group mate absence and individual absence was moderated by dissimilarity with respect to union affiliation (but not tenure dissimilarity), such that those with low union dissimilarity scores were more likely to align their absence behaviour with that of their group mates.

Organisational trust, affective commitment and bureaucratic control

Abstract In this study, we examined the relationship between employee perceptions of organisational trust and their affective commitment. We also tested the extent to which the strength of this relation depended on the structural context. Data were provided by employees drawn from a variety of organisational settings. In addition to indicating their levels of organisational trust and affective commitment, study respondents were asked to describe their organisations structure in terms of five bureaucratic characteristics. Consistent with our predictions, the relation between organisational trust and affective commitment was found to be more pronounced when the organisations structure was less bureaucratic (controlling). However, there is also evidence for the paradoxical effects of bureaucracy as both enabling and disabling at the same time. We discuss the theoretical implications of these findings, and consider whether bureaucracy is an enabling, disabling, or enabling-and-disabling organisational form.

The nursing profession in Sri Lanka: time for policy changes

AIM We address issues and challenges in nursing in Sri Lanka with the aim of identifying where and how policy changes need to be made. BACKGROUND Increased global interconnectivity calls for professional leadership, research, education, and policy reform in nursing as these are identified as enhancing health workforce performance and professionalization, thereby improving health systems. SOURCES OF EVIDENCE We draw on first-hand knowledge of health care and nursing in Sri Lanka and a recent survey of nurses at a large urban government hospital in Sri Lanka, followed by discussion and proposed action on themes identified through analysis of published and unpublished literature about the nursing profession. DISCUSSION Policy and action are needed to: (a) establish mandatory nurse licensure in the public and private healthcare sectors; (b) implement realistic policies to further develop nursing education; (c) develop a professionalization process to support nursing autonomy and voice; and (d) promote systematic processes for educational accreditation, curriculum revision, continuing professional development, evidence-based practice, research, leadership, and information systems. CONCLUSION There is a policy vacuum that requires careful analysis and strategic planning by formal nurse leaders. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY Implementing change will require political and professional power and strategic, innovative, and evolutionary policy initiatives as well as organizational infrastructure modifications best achieved through committed multidisciplinary collaboration, augmented research capacity, bolstered nursing leadership, and promotion of partnerships with policy makers.