Mary C. Kernan

Survivor reactions to reorganization: Antecedents and consequences of procedural, interpersonal, and informational justice

This study tested a model of survivor reactions to reorganization, which incorporated multiple predictors and consequences of procedural, interpersonal, and informational justice. The 3 justice types had different correlates: all 4 antecedents (employee input, victim support, implementation, and communication quality) predicted interpersonal fairness, implementation and communication quality were associated with informational fairness, and employee input was the sole predictor of procedural justice. Procedural justice was strongly related to all 4 outcome variables, and interpersonal and informational justice added unique variance to the prediction of trust in management. The reorganization effort was still predictive of employee outcomes, although primarily through procedural justice approximately I year after its completion.

Matching Commitment to Supervisors and Organizations to In-Role and Extra-Role Performance

There are mixed findings regarding the relations between affective and continuance commitment and job performance. However, past research has largely disregarded the concept of commitment foci and overlooked the importance of matching commitment foci to the target of performance-related behavior. In this study, supervisors rated 189 employees on 2 types of performance hypothesized to be directed more toward supervisors than organizations: in-role performance and courtesy. They also rated 2 types hypothesized to be directed more toward organizations than supervisors: civic virtue and loyal boosterism. After controlling for other forms of commitment, affective commitment to supervisors explained unique variance in in-role performance and courtesy. Affective commitment to organizations did not. After controlling for other forms of commitment, affective commitment to organizations explained unique variance in loyal boosterism. Affective commitment to supervisors did not. Continuance commitment to supervisors and organizations was unrelated to performance. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Computer Anxiety and Computer Attitudes: An Investigation of Construct and Predictive Validity Issues

Factor analysis of several computer attitude and anxiety scales suggested that computer anxiety and attitude toward computers should be treated as separate constructs. Some evidence of the convergent validity of the computer anxiety construct was demonstrated. However, the predictive validity of computer anxiety and various computer attitudes was low.

Effects of valence, expectancies, and goal-performance discrepancies in single and multiple goal environments.

This study was designed to investigate the effects of goal-performance discrepancies, valences, and expectancies on tasks extending through three goal-performance-feedback cycles in both single and multiple goal environments. The implications of these findings for goal setting, control theory, and motivational processes in general are discussed

When research setting is important: the influence of subordinate self-esteem on reactions to abusive supervision

In this paper, we argue that the conflicting theoretical views regarding the role that self-esteem plays in the decision to become aggressive can be explained by the particular research methodology used. Specifically, we examine how individuals respond to a perceived abusive supervisor in two settings: (1) using scenarios and (2) in a field study. Results indicate that individuals with high self-esteem are more likely to become aggressive in response to an abusive supervisor in settings where they are asked what they would do (using scenarios). However, in field research settings, where they are asked what they did do, individuals with low self-esteem were more likely to become aggressive in response to an abusive supervisor.

Dual Commitments to Organizations and Professions: Different Motivational Pathways to Productivity

Commitments to organizations and professions have important implications for behavior in the workplace, but little is known about how these dual commitments combine to affect organizational outcomes. We present a model proposing that commitment to professions influences productivity through a positive effect on intrinsic motivation and a negative effect on extrinsic motivation. Commitment to organizations, conversely, is hypothesized to have a negative effect on intrinsic motivation and a positive effect on extrinsic motivation. We tested the model with a sample of 237 tenured management professors and, overall, the model fit the data well and better than less parsimonious models or ones positing reverse causality. Commitment to the profession was positively related to intrinsic motivation to engage in research and, through this effect, resulted in more challenging research goals, increased commitment to those goals, more hours spent on research, and greater research productivity. Commitment to the organization (university) was positively related to extrinsic motivation and negatively related to intrinsic motivation and was unrelated to goal level, goal commitment, hours spent on research, and research productivity. Our model makes a unique theoretical contribution by revealing the differing paths by which commitments to organizations and professions affect work outcomes, and our results support and extend commitment theory and offer unique insights into posttenure productivity.

Defeating abusive supervision: Training supervisors to support subordinates.

Although much is known about the antecedents and consequences of abusive supervision, scant attention has been paid to investigating procedures to reduce its frequency. We conducted a quasiexperiment to examine the effects of supervisor support training on subordinate perceptions of abusive supervision and supervisor support. Supervisors (n = 23) in 4 restaurants were trained in 4 supportive supervision strategies (benevolence, sincerity, fairness, and experiential processing) during 4 2-hr sessions over a period of 2 months. We compared perceived supervisor support and abusive supervision before and 9 months after training for 208 employees whose supervisors received support training and 241 employees in 4 similar control restaurants. Compared to employees in the control restaurants, employees whose supervisors received the support training reported higher levels of perceived supervisor support and less abusive supervision. These findings suggest that a relatively brief training program can help managers become more supportive and less abusive. Theoretical and practical implications for effectively managing abusive supervision are discussed.

Effects of Abusive Supervision, Psychological Climate, and Felt Violation on Work Outcomes A Moderated Mediated Model

This study adds to the existing literature by empirically demonstrating that psychological climate is an important variable in understanding the relationships between abusive supervision and employee outcomes. Using psychological contract theory as a framework, we examined the relationships among abusive supervision, psychological climate, felt violation, and three work outcomes: organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions. Results from a survey of 448 civilian managers employed by the U.S. government showed that the relationship between abusive supervision and felt violation was moderated by psychological climate, suggesting that an abuse-intolerant climate heighted rather than buffered the effects of abuse on felt violation. Felt violation also partially mediated the relationship between abuse and the outcome variables. Using Muller, Judd, and Yzerbyt’s method for testing moderated mediation, we found partial support for felt violation mediating the effect of the interaction between abuse and psychological climate on job satisfaction and organizational commitment. This model was not supported for turnover intentions. Implications of the results and suggestions for future research on abusive supervision are discussed.

Chapter 23 Application of Control Theory to Work Settings

Publisher Summary This chapter describes applications of control theory to work settings. It explores the ways in which the basic control loop can be applied in understanding the performance of a single work task. The chapter examines issues such as the need for goal acceptance, the selection and interpretation of feedback, and the flexibility of workers in resolving goal feedback discrepancies. The basic mechanisms to show the ways in which control theory can explain behavior and information processing related to more complex work activities, such as the management of competing goals, multiple criteria, and goal hierarchies are also discussed. Motivation in organizational settings has been explained by a splintered and perplexing array of theories. Control theory can serve as a meta-theory for human motivation. There are five basic components in a control system—namely, (1) standard, (2) sensor, (3) comparator, (4) decision mechanism, and (5) effector. Despite of the complexity of elementary control loops, control theory is consistent with much applied work on motivation. The basic goal setting technique for enhancing motivation is consistent with control theory.

THE POSITIVE SIDE OF REORGANIZATION: INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF JOB CHANGES AND ROLE PERCEPTIONS.

The article examines how corporate employees perceive their jobs following a corporate reorganization and how those perceptions predict work attitudes about the reorganization, and behavior. It is suggested that if employees perceive that the changes in their jobs are enriching, then employee will make positive associations with their organization. The article also asserts that an employees role related variables, such as role ambiguity and role overload, will moderate the link between perceptions of job changes and employee outcomes. According to the article such role-related variables add to the lack of instability and turbulance that may occur within a structured organization.