Mark John Somers

Ethical Codes of Conduct and Organizational Context: A Study of the Relationship Between Codes of Conduct, Employee Behavior and Organizational Values

Codes of ethics are being increasingly adopted in organizations worldwide, yet their effects on employee perceptions and behavior have not been thoroughly addressed. This study used a sample of 613 management accountants drawn from the United States to study the relationship between corporate and professional codes of ethics and employee attitudes and behaviors. The presence of corporate codes of ethics was associated with less perceived wrongdoing in organizations, but not with an increased propensity to report observed unethical behavior. Further, organizations that adopted formal codes of ethics exhibited value orientations that went beyond financial performance to include responsibility to the commonweal. In contrast to corporate codes of ethics, professional codes of ethical conduct had no influence on perceived wrongdoing in organization nor these codes affect the propensity to report observed unethical activities.

Work-related commitment and job performance: it's also the nature of the performance that counts

This study tested the proposition that relationships among the various types of work-related commitment and job performance are affected by both the form of commitment and the facet of performance under consideration. Results provided some support for this view. As hypothesized, job involvement was related only to performance tied to intrinsically rewarding elements of work, and career commitment was positively related to overall performance effectiveness. Unexpectedly, however, organizational commitment (both affective and continuance) was unrelated to job performance. The discussion is centered on practical implications of these findings and on directions for future research.

Exploring the Relationship between Commitment Profiles and Work Attitudes, Employee Withdrawal, and Job Performance.

Four commitment profiles, based on levels of commitment to the organization and the career, were used to explore the relationship between distinct patterns of commitment and work-related outcomes with a sample of professional hospital employees. As two distinct forms of organizational commitment have been identified affective and continuance commitment separate profiles were constructed for each type of organizational commitment in conjunction with career commitment. Results for profiles based on affective commitment were consistent with prior research findings, in that employees committed to both their organization and their career exhibited the most positive work attitudes and the strongest intention to remain with the organization. Unexpectedly, the dually committed also had the strongest intensity of job search behavior, but these efforts did not translate into higher incidences of turnover. No differences were observed across commitment profiles with respect to job performance. The synergistic effect between affective and career commitment was not observed for profiles based on continuance commitment to the organization. Employees committed only to their careers exhibited more positive work outcomes than did those committed only to their organizations. The implications of these findings for management practice were discussed.

Fitting Job Performance into Turnover Model: An Examination of the Form of the Job Performance-Turnover Relationship and a Path Model

Linear and curvilinear components of job performance were studied in relation to turnover. Neither the linear nor the curvilinear hypothesis was supported as job performance was unrelated to turnover. Other higher-order effects were also not evident as job satisfaction did not moderate the job performance-turnover relationship. Using a path model, indirect linkages between job performance and job satisfaction and job performance and job search were investigated. Niether linkage was supported suggesting that job performance is not central to the turnover process. Implications of these findings for future research were discussed.

Patterns of attachment to organizations: Commitment profiles and work outcomes

Commitment profiles were studied with a sample of 572 hospital workers. Seven of the eight commitment profiles in Meyer and Herscovitchs (2001) typology emerged using K-means clustering including: highly committed, affective dominant, continuance dominant, affective-continuance dominant, affective-normative dominant, continuance-normative dominant, and uncommitted. Outcome variables included: turnover intentions, turnover, absenteeism, and person-organization value congruence. Results were consistent with prior findings in that normative commitment alone and in conjunction with continuance commitment enhanced the benefits of affective commitment. Turnover rates were much higher for poorly socialized employees suggesting that there is a self-corrective effect in which uncommitted employees are more likely to leave their organizations.

Thinking differently : Assessing nonlinearities in the relationship between work attitudes and job performance using a bayesian neural network

The relationship between work attitudes and individual job performance was investigated using artificial neural networks (ANNs). ANNs use pattern recognition algorithms that are well suited to capturing nonlinear relationships among variables thereby providing a new perspective on research on this topic area. Results from the neural network analysis provided strong evidence of nonlinearity suggesting that nonlinear models are needed to understand the work attitude-job performance relationship. In so doing, the neural network model had greater predictive accuracy than did traditional OLS regression. Implications of this finding for theory development and future research were discussed.

Organizational Commitment and Whistle-Blowing A Test of the Reformer and the Organization Man Hypotheses

The relationship between organizational commitment and whistle-blowing was studied using a national sample of management accountants. Linear and curvilinear versions of the reformer and the organization man hypotheses were tested with results supporting a purely curvilinear model. More specifically, the relationship between commitment and the intent to report wrong-doing took the form of an inverted U, suggesting that moderate levels of commitment are most likely to result in whistle-blowing. Results were discussed in terns of their implications for theory and research and for management practice.

Application of two neural network paradigms to the study of voluntary employee turnover.

Two neural network paradigms--multilayer perceptron and learning vector quantization--were used to study voluntary employee turnover with a sample of 577 hospital employees. The objectives of the study were twofold. The 1st was to assess whether neural computing techniques offered greater predictive accuracy than did conventional turnover methodologies. The 2nd was to explore whether computer models of turnover based on neural network technologies offered new insights into turnover processes. When compared with logistic regression analysis, both neural network paradigms provided considerably more accurate predictions of turnover behavior, particularly with respect to the correct classification of leavers. In addition, these neural network paradigms captured nonlinear relationships that are relevant for theory development. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for future research.

Survival versus traditional methodologies for studying employee turnover: differences, divergences and directions for future research

Despite initial enthusiasm for using survival analysis techniques to gain new insights into employee turnover, nearly one decade later hardly any studies based on survival methodologies are evident in the literature. Consequently, the potential for survival analysis to open new avenues in turnover research remains unassessed, and the need for research on this topic is readily apparent. In this study, survival analysis methods were compared with those inherent in ‘traditional’ turnover research. Results indicated significant divergences between these two methods. The traditional turnover methodology reproduced findings characteristic of the vast majority of research on this topic—job withdrawal intentions emerged as the sole predictor of employee turnover behavior. In contrast, continuance commitment and ethnicity were directly predictive of turnover behavior using survival analysis methods. Implications of these results and directions for future research are discussed. Copyright

Using Artificial Neural Networks to Model Nonlinearity The Case of the Job Satisfaction—Job Performance Relationship

Neural networks are advanced pattern recognition algorithms capable of extracting complex, nonlinear relationships among variables. This study examines those capabilities by modeling nonlinearities in the job satisfaction—job performance relationship with multilayer perceptron and radial basis function neural networks. A framework for studying nonlinear relationships with neural networks is offered. It is implemented using the job satisfaction—job performance relationship with results indicative of pervasive patterns of nonlinearity.