Louis C. Buffardi

Perceived Organizational Support A Meta-Analytic Evaluation of Organizational Support Theory

Organizational support theory (OST) proposes that employees form a generalized perception concerning the extent to which the organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being (perceived organizational support, or POS). Based on hypotheses involving social exchange, attribution, and self-enhancement, we carried out a meta-analytic assessment of OST using results from 558 studies. OST was generally successful in its predictions concerning both the antecedents of POS (leadership, employee–organization context, human resource practices, and working conditions) and its consequences (employee’s orientation toward the organization and work, employee performance, and well-being). Notably, OST successfully predicted the relative magnitudes of different relationships, influences of process variables, and mediational effects. General implications of the findings for OST and research on POS are discussed.

Work-family conflict, perceived organizational support, and organizational commitment among employed mothers.

This study investigated the impact of work interfering with family (WIF) and family interfering with work (FIW) on womens organizational commitment and examined both the direct and moderating effects of their perceived organizational support. Participants were 143 professional employed mothers with at least 1 preschool-age child. The study found that WIF was positively related to continuance organizational commitment but unrelated to affective commitment, and FIW was not related to either form of organizational commitment. Results also indicated that perceived organizational support exhibited a main effect on both types of commitment.

Maintenance training simulator fidelity and individual differences in transfer of training

This study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between simulator fidelity and training effectiveness. Two aspects of simulator fidelity were manipulated, namely, the degree to which a training simulator “looked like” actual equipment (physical fidelity), and the extent to which it “acted like” real equipment (functional fidelity). A transfer of training design was used to assess learning. Performance on an electromechanical troubleshooting task was correlated with a number of individual difference variables. Results indicated that physical and functional fidelity were interdependent and that temporal measures were most sensitive to fidelity manipulations. Low functional fidelity was associated with longer problem solution and inter-response times. Persons with high analytic abilities took longer to solve problems, but required fewer troubleshooting tests and made fewer incorrect solutions.

Different types of day care and their relationship to maternal satisfaction, perceived support, and role conflict

Mothers using three different kinds of day care arrangements for their preschoolers: home day care providers, day care centers, andau pairs, were asked to rate their satisfaction with these types of care on a multidimensional scale. Measures of perceived support from spouse and employer, role conflict and maternal separation anxiety were also completed. While demographic variables including mothers age, education, and income proved to be highly correlated with the kind of day care chosen, role conflict and anxiety about being separated from her child were unrelated to type of arrangement used. Although the mothers generally reported at least moderate levels of satisfaction with different aspects of their childs care, those using day care centers were significantly less satisfied with the availability of their arrangements. Mothers using both centers and home day care providers also expressed significantly more concern with the amount of attention their child received.

Relationships between ability requirements and human errors in job tasks.

This article describes a program of research investigating the relations between abilities required to perform job tasks and human error probabilities while performing these tasks. Study 1, using objectively derived human errors made in performing Air Force job tasks, evaluated an ability-requirements classification methodology and found that error rates were related to the numbers, types, and levels of different abilities required. In Study 2, subject matter expert panels used the methodology to identify the ability requirements of tasks in 2 different jobs found in each of 2 types of nuclear power plants. This study, using a task-anchored scale of human error probability, replicated the findings of Study 1, identified 2 ability requirements that cross-validated in predicting task-error probabilities across both jobs and plants, and identified other abilities specific to error probabilities in each job.

Child care satisfaction: The effects of parental gender and type of child care used

A survey of 1675 parents of preschool-aged children revealed higher levels of satisfaction with child care provided by relatives and byau pairs in the family’s home as compared to either center-based care or home care providers. Parental satisfaction with these latter two forms of child care did not differ significantly. Mothers in general were more satisfied with their child care than fathers. However, child care satisfaction was a significant predictor of work/family balance for both genders.

Relation between Raters' Characteristics and Halo Error

The present study examined the effect of personality characteristics and cognitive style of raters on halo error. To control the information available to raters, a vignette concerning two fictitious individuals was presented. The two individuals were rated on 10 traits by 60 undergraduate raters. These raters also completed a Group Embedded Figures Test and a Thurstone Temperament Schedule. Raters characterized as dominant, vigorous, and stable were less susceptible to halo error than others. These results appear compatible with previous research on the characteristics of accurate raters. The hypothesis that field-independent raters would be less susceptible to halo error than field-dependent raters was not fully supported by the data. Suggestions for the direction of future research are given.