James B. Shaw

The availability of personal and external coping resources: their impact on job stress and employee attitudes during organizational restructuring

Abstract This study examines the relationships among personal coping resources, social support, external coping resources, job stressors and job strains in a sample of 110 American Telephone and Telegraph employees undergoing a major organizational restructuring. The study expanded on a model suggested by Ashford (1988) by defining another category of coping resources that employees may draw upon to deal with the stressors and strains which occur during major organizational changes. External coping resources were defined as those which provided employees with a sense of ‘vicarious control’ in stressful situations. Results indicated that personal coping resources, social support and external coping resources had a direct effect upon job stressor and strain levels. No ‘buffering’ effect of these coplng resources was found. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that external coping resources added to the prediction of job stressors and strains even when pertonal coping resources and social support were ...

A Conceptual Framework for Assessing Organization, Work Group, and Individual Effectiveness During and After Downsizing

The need for a unified, cross-level (organization, work group, individual employee) model of organizational downsizing has been suggested by several authors (e.g., Kozlowski et al., 1993). The definition of downsizing, in terms applicable only at the organization level, prevents researchers from developing a more cohesive view of the interactive impact of downsizing for the organization, work groups, and individuals. In this paper, we define downsizing more broadly as a constellation of stressor events centering around pressures toward work force reductions which place demands upon the organization, work groups, and individual employees, and require a process of coping and adaptation. This stress-based view of downsizing allows researchers to develop concepts to guide research on downsizing that are more broadly applicable across levels of analysis. To show the advantages of this stress-based view of downsizing, this paper uses concepts from the stress coping literature to identify a set of critical dependent variables that should be studied in downsizing research. We argue that these variables are applicable for organization, group, and individual employee-level research.

The development and analysis of a measure of group faultlines

Lau and Murnighan introduced the “faultline” concept into the group diversity literature. Faultlines are “hypothetical dividing lines that may split a group into subgroups based on one or more attributes. ” Faultlines result from the pattern, not just the dispersion, of attributes among group members. Measures using dispersion indices do not capture faultline potential. This article reports the development of faultline measures and the characteristics of these measures in two samples.

Organizational and environmental factors related to HRM practices in Hong Kong: a cross-cultural expanded replication

Data were collected from 151 Hong Kong organizations to determine the relationship between culture, firm size, level of unionization and presence of an HRM department, and human resource management (HR) practices. Culture was a relatively weak predictor of HR practices. Existence of an HRM department and level of unionization were moderate predictors while firm size and the existence of a specialized training unit within the HRM department were the strongest predictors of HR practices.

From maternalism to accountability: the changing cultures of Ma Bell and Mother Russia

Executive Overview This article is about organizations changing from cultures of maternalism to cultures of accountability, and changing from environments of monopolistic security to competitive uncertainty. We examine these change processes using examples from two seemingly diverse situations—the American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T) divestiture and the Soviet Union under perestroika. Although there are vast differences in the political and cultural heritages of organizations in the Soviet Union and the United States, we point out some important similarities in the problems and opportunities faced by U.S. and Soviet managers. We examine the similarities of pre- and post-change environments in AT&T and Soviet organizations. We also describe common forces that have resisted change in both situations and how AT&T Soviet leaders have tried to overcome resistance. Finally, some “lessons to be learned” about organizational change from these diverse situations are outlined.

A Fair Go for All? The Impact of Intragroup Diversity and Diversity-Management Skills on Student Experiences and Outcomes in Team-Based Class Projects.

A longitudinal study of 390 students in 64 Practical Organizational Behavior Education (PROBE) project teams was conducted on the effects of intragroup diversity and student diversity-management skills. The impact of gender, age, and nationality variables on student grades, cognitive processes, perceptions of team effectiveness, and satisfaction were examined. Although the PROBE method places emphasis on the development of teamwork skills, the study found that students were disadvantaged in their grade performance and other outcomes depending on the type of group to which they were assigned and their particular position within the group.

Evaluating organizational behavior teaching innovations: More rigorous designs, more relevant criteria, and an example

Evaluations of new methods of teaching Organizational Behavior (OB) usually rely on course ratings collected at the end of the semester. This article discusses the need for more rigorous designs for assessing teaching innovations, and proposes evaluating OB courses on the basis of change in self-ratings of managerial competencies. Selfratings of managerial competencies and a more sophisticated evaluation design are used to compare the Practical Organizational Behavior Education (PROBE) method to the lecture/tutorial method of delivering of OB material. PROBE produces greater perceived managerial skill learning than lecture/tutorial delivery for females, younger students, students with little work experience, and students from Western cultures. The discussion points out how incorrect conclusions might have been reached about the relative effectiveness of the two methods had a less sophisticated evaluation design been used.

Human Resource Practices in Hong Kong and Singapore: The Impact of Political Forces and Imitation Processes:

This study examined the influence of political forces and imitation processes on HR practices in local and foreign firms in Singapore and Hong Kong. Hong Kong has long practised a policy of positiv...

Establishment Level Correlates of Human Resource Practices

This study tests the contingency view that HR practices at establishments will vary with differences in corporate headquarters location (Eastern versus Western), establishment size, rate of technological change, and presence of a formal HRM department on site. These factors were expected to be related to HR practices in a range of areas including recruiting and selection, training promotion, appraisal, and formalization of HR policies and job descriptions. Most hypotheses received support in a sample of establishments doing business in Singapore. Contrary to results in North American studies, but as expected in a Singaporean environment, extent of unionization was not a significant predictor of many practices.

The Consequences of Educational Specialty and Nationality Faultlines for Project Teams

This study examines the effects of educational specialty and nationality faultline strength on the team processes of task-relevant information sharing and social interactions and subsequent team performance using data from 308 individuals working in 50 student project teams. We found that educational specialty faultline strength negatively predicted task-relevant information sharing, and that nationality faultline strength negatively predicted off-task social interactions. Furthermore, task-relevant information sharing enhanced team performance and heightened identity salience. The theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.