James L. Farr

Innovation and creativity at work : psychological and organizational strategies

This review of existing research aims to provide students and researchers with a clear perspective on this aspect of social change. The book adopts a largely psychological approach, arguing that the introduction of new ways of working can best be understood as a social process in which human reactions are vital in determining the outcome. The book therefore has major implications and recommendations for the human resource management school. The contributors, from Europe and North America, offer insights into innovation and creativity in working life.

Utility concepts in performance measurement

Abstract For several decades, personnel psychologists have struggled to apply utility concepts to personnel decision strategies. One of the obstacles to greater acceptance of the utility concept has been the difficulty in translating performance variance into a dollar metric. Recently, it has been demonstrated how that might be done without the use of expensive and questionable cost-accounting procedures. The extension of the utility logic to cover other areas of personnel including the performance measurement and feedback paradigm is proposed and a demonstration of such an application is provided. Programmatic research concerned with fundamental and applied issues in this area is proposed.

Retaking Ability Tests in a Selection Setting: Implications for Practice Effects, Training Performance, and Turnover

This field study investigated the effect of retaking identical selection tests on subsequent test scores of 4,726 candidates for law enforcement positions. For both cognitive ability and oral communication ability selection tests, candidates produced significant score increases between the 1st and 2nd and the 2nd and 3rd test administrations. Furthermore, the repeat testing relationships with posthire training performance and turnover were examined in a sample of 1,515 candidates eventually selected into the organization. As predicted from persistence and continuance commitment rationales, the number of tests necessary to gain entry into the organization was positively associated with training performance and negatively associated with turnover probability.

Further examinations of the relationship between reward contingency and intrinsic motivation

Abstract A series of laboratory studies were conducted to examine the effect of contingent monetary reward on the occurrence of behavior presumably determined by intrinsic task motivation. A general hypothesis that contingent monetary rewards would reduce the frequency of such behaviors was derived from a postulate of cognitive evaluation theory. For all of the studies, intrinsic task motivation was operationally defined as the amount of free time a subject spent working on a task without receiving reward. Study 1 investigated the effects of reward contingency and reward magnitude upon the behavioral measure of intrinsic motivation and upon related attitudinal variables. Study 2 examined the effects of reward contingency and two individual difference variables (self-esteem and perceived locus of control) on intrinsic motivation and attitudinal measures. Although Study 2 showed no significant results, Study 1 demonstrated support for the hypothesis with the behavioral measure of intrinsic motivation, but not with the attitudinal measures. Further examination of the behavioral measure of intrinsic motivation suggested that this variable was bimodally distributed in both Studies 1 and 2. A test for normality indicated that the distributions were significantly non-normal and that parametric analyses of mean differences were inappropriate. Study 3 reported the results of nonparametric reanalyses of Studies 1 and 2 and of data previously published by Deci as supportive of the postulate under examination. Decis data were also found to be generally bimodal. The nonparametric analyses were nonsignificant for all data sets. Theoretical implications of these results are discussed and future directions for research are suggested.

The Attitudinal and Behavioral Openness Scale: scale development and construct validation

Abstract The focus of this study is the development and construct validation of the Attitudinal and Behavioral Openness Scale (ABOS). This scale measures the personality construct of openness with behavioral and attitudinal indicators. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses suggest multiple dimensions of the Attitudinal and Behavioral Openness Scale: Participation in Cultural Activities, Foreign Experiences, Openness Attitudes, and Comfort with Differences. Additional analyses establish a nomological network for this construct by demonstrating convergence between the ABOS and theoretically linked sociopolitical constructs, attitudinal and personality constructs, in particular a self-rated adjective measure of openness.

Incentive schedules, productivity, and satisfaction in work groups: A laboratory study☆

Abstract A factorial laboratory study examined the effects of individual incentives and group incentives. The subjects were 144 college students who worked in three-person groups on a card-sorting task. Both individual and group incentives significantly increased task performance. The experimental condition which contained both an individual and group incentive resulted in the highest level of performance, but also resulted in perceptions of the pay system as being unfair. Personal pay satisfaction was not affected by any pay condition. Results also were not in accord with predictions of equity theory concerning both performances and satisfaction. It was concluded that current conceptions of pay inequity may have to be modified to include a distinction between personal pay satisfaction and the perceived fairness of a pay system.

Knowledge Management Processes and Work Group Innovation.

Abstract: Following a selective review of theoretical models and empirical research on work group effectiveness and innovation, we present a dynamic model of work group innovation. Our model integrates recent advances in taxonomies of work group processes and stages of the innovation process with a focus on the temporal nature of innovation. We also provide a discussion of the specific inputs, group processes, emergent states, and outcomes that appear to be most relevant for each of the various stages of work group innovation.

Interview judgments: Using external criteria to compare behavioral and graphic scale ratings

Abstract A study was conducted which examined the psychometric properties of interview ratings. The results of a project to develop behavioral rating scales for interviews were used to compose interview scripts of hypothetical candidates for the job of resident assistant in a college dormitory. Following Borman (1975) , the scaled values of behavioral examples served as the basis for external performance criteria, relative to which traditional rating errors were assessed. Audio recordings of five structured interviews were rated by 112 subjects randomly assigned to one of four conditions in a factorial design. Independent variables included type of scale with which ratings were made (behavioral or graphic) and training to avoid rating errors (received or not received). Results showed that behavioral scale ratings were significantly more accurate (relative to the external performance criteria), were less subject to halo and leniency errors, and exhibited greater interrater reliability than graphic scale ratings. No effect for training was found. The finding that behavioral scales were psychometrically superior to graphic scales when raters were inexperienced suggests the possibility that experienced interviewers may use behavioral scales to similar advantage.

A Comparison of the Accuracy of Four Methods for Clustering Jobs

Four methods of cluster analysis were examined for their accuracy in clustering simulated job analytic data. The methods included hierarchical mode analysis, Wards method, k-means method from a random start, and k-means based on the results of Wards method. Thirty data sets, which differed according to number of jobs, number of population clusters, number of job dimensions, degree of cluster separation, and size of population clusters, were generated using a monte carlo technique. The results from each of the four methods were then compared to actual classifications. The performance of hierarchical mode analysis was significantly poorer than that of the other three methods. Correlations were computed to determine the effects of the five data set variables on the accuracy of each method. From an applied perspective, these relationships indicate which method is most appropriate for a given data set. These results are discussed in the context of certain limitations of this investigation. Suggestions are also made regarding future directions for cluster analysis research.

An Examination of the Construct Validity and Reliability of the Ghiselli Self-Description Inventory as a Measure of Self-Esteem

Two studies are reported which investigated the construct validity and reliability of the Ghiselli Self- Description Inventory as a measure of self-esteem. The first study, using a multitrait-multimethod ma trix, found little evidence for the construct validity of the instrument. The second study found a signifi cant, although low, test-retest reliability for the in strument. The degree and pattern of relationships of the instrument with other psychological measures differed for its first and second administrations. These findings are discussed relative to the con tinued use of the instrument in research and the general study of self-esteem in the context of or ganizational behavior.