Lisa Hope Pelled

Exploring the Black Box: An Analysis of Work Group Diversity, Conflict, and Performance.

In this paper we present an integrative model of the relationships among diversity, conflict, and performance, and we test that model with a sample of 45 teams. Findings show that diversity shapes conflict and that conflict, in turn, shapes performance, but these linkages have subtleties. Functional background diversity drives task conflict, but multiple types of diversity drive emotional conflict. Race and tenure diversity are positively associated with emotional conflict, while age diversity is negatively associated with such conflict. Task routineness and group longevity moderate these relationships. Results further show that task conflict has more favorable effects on cognitive task performance than does emotional conflict. Overall, these patterns suggest a complex link between work group diversity and work group functioning.

Down and Out: An Investigation of the Relationship between Mood and Employee Withdrawal Behavior

A relatively new and promising area of research is the effect of mood in the workplace. In an effort to extend existing literature on the subject, we examined the impact of two mood dimensions (positive affect and negative affect) on employees’ withdrawal behavior—specifically, on their absenteeism and turnover from an organization. A longitudinal study of 129 employees of a division of an electronics firm revealed that positive affect reduced absenteeism, while negative affect increased absenteeism and turnover. Job satisfaction moderated the relationship between positive affect and absenteeism. These results point to the importance of considering both job attitudes and emotions in efforts to predict and manage employee withdrawal behavior.

Demographic Dissimilarity and Workplace Inclusion

This study examined the relationship between individual demographic dissimilarity from co-workers and three indicators of inclusion by an organization: decision-making influence, access to sensitive information, and job security. Data from 345 individuals in eight work units showed that individual dissimilarity in race and gender were negatively associated with inclusion, and the effect of race dissimilarity was more pronounced for whites than for non-whites. In contrast, individual dissimilarity in tenure and education level were positively associated with inclusion, and these effects were more pronounced for those with greater tenure and greater education, respectively. Overall, the results suggest that whether being different hinders or helps organizational inclusion may depend on whether that difference is visible and whether it reflects job expertise. Further, they suggest that, when being different is a hindrance, it may be hardest on those who have traditionally been the majority in organizations.

Antecedents of intergroup conflict in multifunctional product development teams: a conceptual model

Multifunctional teams are an increasingly popular way of organizing product development. While a considerable body of research has addressed process-related challenges facing teams in general, there is a relative lack of clarity on the specific challenges confronting multifunctional product development teams. This paper therefore elaborates on the challenge of intergroup conflict in multifunctional product development teams, proposing a model that explains how functional diversity within such teams can lead to task and emotional intergroup conflict. The model is developed through a synthesis of organizational behavior and social psychology literature, and illustrative examples are drawn from interviews with members of five teams in three manufacturing firms. >

Relational Demography and Relationship Quality in Two Cultures

Prior research has shown that demographic similarity between supervisors and sub-ordinates shapes supervisor-subordinate relationship quality in US settings. The current study extends this body of research by comparing effects in a US production facility to effects in a Mexican facility owned by the same company. Results suggest that, in both locations, demographic similarity influences the quality of relationships between supervisors and subordinates. The specific patterns in Mexico, however, are not identical to those in the United States. Age similarity has negative effects on relationship quality in Mexico, but not in the United States. Also, gender similarity has a stronger positive impact on one dimension of relationship quality (trust) in Mexico, but it has a stronger positive impact on a second dimension of relationship quality (leader-member exchange) in the United States. Both the overlap and disparities between demography effects in the two regions are important considerations when attempting to transfer human resource management practices, such as diversity management programmes, across the American-Mexican border

The Influence of Organizational Demography on Customer-Oriented Prosocial Behavior: An Exploratory Investigation

Abstract This research examines the relationship between two constructs that so far have been studied independently of each other: organizational demography and prosocial organizational behavior (POB). Drawing on social psychology and organizational behavior literatures, we develop a conceptual framework that proposes how these constructs are interrelated. The framework suggests two hypotheses. First, diversity variables high in job-relatedness and low in visibility will be positively related to customer-oriented POB. Second, diversity variables low in job-relatedness and high in visibility will be negatively related to such POB. In a field study, we conduct a preliminary test of these predictions. Specifically, we use company records and questionnaire data (from a firm in the nonalcoholic beverage industry) to compute associations between demographic diversity and prosocial behavior in 223 work units. Results provide preliminary support for our hypotheses. Consistent with the first prediction, functional background diversity has a significant positive association (β = 0.26, p

Participative management in Northern Mexico: a study of maquiladoras

This study examined the relationship between participative management and the effectiveness (performance and employee turnover) of fifty-four maquilndorrrs, production facilities in Northern Mexico. Although Mexicos culture has been characterized as high in power-distance–a value that is incongruent with participative management, our findings showed that participative management in maquiladoras was associated with lower turnover and enhanced performance. We interpreted these results as suggesting that participative management practices may not be sensitive to the culture of Northern Mexico and, hence, may be successfully transported to that region.