James R. Terborg

A theoretical approach to sex discrimination in traditionally masculine occupations

Abstract An In-Basket simulation was designed to examine occupational sex discrimination at the time the employee sought access to the organization (access discrimination), and once the employee was on job (treatment discrimination). Two access variables; (1) the decision to hire and (2) starting salary, and the five treatment variables: (1) employee development, (2) delegation of work assignments, (3) employee evaluation, (4) distribution of rewards, and (5) promotion were investigated. Although participants hired a female as frequently as an identically qualified male, the female was offered a significantly lower starting salary. Once within the organization the female was assigned to routine tasks more frequently than to challenging ones. Also, second year salary offer increased the initial salary discrepancy between sexes which occurred at hiring. The results were discussed in light of Attribution Theory, Equity Theory, and the role of stereotypes.

Sport and Organizational Studies Exploring Synergy

A number of phenomena of interest to management and organizational scholars have been investigated within the context of sport (e.g., compensation-performance relationships, escalating commitment, executive succession, sustainable competitive advantage). The authors are unaware, however, of any systematic effort to address the rationale, benefits, and potential of conducting organizational research within sport. The purpose of this article is to investigate how studying within the context of sport can contribute to an understanding of management and of organizations with a focus on how such contribution can be achieved with creative and innovative research approaches. The authors present a general overview of the rationale for studying organizational phenomena within sport and provide a concise review of such research. With this as background, the authors discuss a number of organizational phenomena that they have studied within the domain of sport. The article suggests how organizational research might benefit by using sport as a context in ways not yet evident in the literature.

Motivation, behavior, and performance: A closer examination of goal setting and monetary incentives.

Some experimenters often test predictions from theories of motivation using performance outcomes as dependent variables. We argue that observable behaviors that are likely to be affected by motivation manipulations should be used in combination with performance outcomes. Such procedures would be sensitive to differential effects of manipulations on various behaviors and would allow for investigation of relationships among behaviors and performance outcomes. For this experiment, 60 males were hired to work individually on a 2-hour construction task. Subjects were assigned to one of two pay conditions (piece-rate vs. hourly) and one of three goal-setting conditions (no goal, quantity, or quality) resulting in a 2 X 3 crossed analysis of variance design. Dependent variables included three measures of effort, three measures of direction of behavior, and both quantity and quality performance. Method of payment affected quantity performance and effort. Goal setting affected quantity and quality performance and direction of behavior. Implications for designing and testing work motivation systems are discussed.

Organizational and Personal Correlates of Attitudes Toward Women as Managers

This study discusses the validation of a scale designed to measure attitudes toward women as managers using a cross-section sample of 180 male and 100 female employees. The relationship of personal...

Job attitudes of part-time and full-time employees.

Abstract : Several hypotheses concerning work and non-work social influences on part-time and full-time employees were investigated. Predictions were derived from role theory (Gross, Mason, and McEachern, 1958), and partial inclusion notions (Katz and Kahn, 1978). Survey data were collected from 1632 retail employees working part- or full-time in one of 41 geographically dispersed organizational units. Part-time employees felt less involved in the organizational role but were more satisfied generally than full-time employees and perceived lower conflict, greater communication accuracy and greater communication openness than did full-time employees. The two job status groups did not differ in perceptions of conflict from non-organizational sources nor in ambiguity concerning work role activities. They were similar also in their commitment to the organization and in their intentions to remain with the organization. Finally, relations of non-organizational social influences with measures of psychological attachment were equivalently high for both part-time and full-time employees, as were relations among measures of work role perceptions and psychological attachment. Discussion cites sample-based explanations and the utility of role theory and partial inclusion to account for the data. Directions for further research contrasting these two status groups are suggested. (Author)

A Predictive Study of Organizational Turnover Rates

This study extends turnover research to the organizational level of analysis. For sales personnel, turnover rates were reliably predicted by local economic activity and average employee age, tenure...

Validation and extension of an individual differences model of work performance.

Abstract The utility of ability, effort, and direction of behavior to predict performance was examined in an experimental simulation where emphasis was placed on the conceptualization and measurement of key variables. Sixty people were hired to work on a 1-week job. Strong support was found for a linear combination of the variables to predict overall performance. Task difficulty was shown to moderate the relationship between ability and performance and the usefulness of the multiplicative combination of the predictors. The importance of considering the demands of the task in future research is discussed.

The effects of temporal placement of unfavorable information and of attitude similarity on personnel selection decisions

Abstract The present research had two goals: (1) to determine the joint effects of attitude similarity and the temporal placement of unfavorable applicant information on personnel decisions, and (2) to minimize such effects by providing job related qualifications predictive of job success. Two studies are reported in which subjects evaluated the resume of a hypothetical job applicant. In Study I, both the temporal placement of unfavorable applicant information and attitude similarity significantly influenced personnel decisions. In Study II, where cue validity was provided, only the effects of the temporal placement of unfavorable information were eliminated; those of attitude similarity remained. Implications concerning the validity of the selection interview are made.

Take Heart II: Replication of a Worksite Health Promotion Trial

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a revised worksite health promotion program that featured an employee steering committee/menu approach to intervention. The “Take Heart II” program was evaluated using a quasi-experimental matched-pair design with worksite as the unit of analysis. Experimental and control worksites did not differ on baseline organizational or employee demographic variables or on baseline levels of dependent variables. Outcome and process results revealed consistent, but modest effects favoring intervention worksites on most measures. Cross-sectional analyses generally failed to produce statistically significant intervention effects, but cohort analyses revealed significant beneficial effects of the Take Heart II intervention on eating patterns, behavior change attempts, and perceived social support. Neither analysis detected a beneficial effect of intervention on cholesterol levels.

Evaluation of a New Method for Assessing Change to Planned Job Redesign as Applied to Hackman and Oldham's Job Characteristic Model.

Abstract Field experiments have not consistently supported the J. R. Hackman and G. R. Oldham ( Organizational Behavior and Human Performance , 1976, 16, 250–279) model of job redesign. One explanation for this could be the inability of Pre and Post ratings to accurately measure individual perceptions of change when the intervention impacts on the frame of reference used by the individual to anchor responses. A solution would be use of retrospective ratings following recommendations by G. S. Howard, K. M. Ralph, N. A. Gulanick, S. E. Maxwell, D. W. Nance, and S. R. Gerber ( Applied Psychological Measurement , 1979, 3 , 7–23) in their research on response shifts. An experimental simulation was conducted with 48 subjects working on what they thought was a proposed work-study job. Results indicated that retrospective ratings were internally valid measures as no bias due to saliency, priming, or order effects was observed. Although evidence of a response shift was not found, the technique was sensitive to objective job changes and using a within-subjects design the Hackman and Oldham model was supported. Implications of retrospective rating methodologies for future research on employee reactions to job or organization change are discussed.