Miriam Erez

The Impact of Participation on Goal Acceptance and Performance: A Two-Step Model

Past research has tested goal setting strategies and found high and invariant levels of goal acceptance. The present research consisted of two studies—one laboratory and one field experiment—hypothesizing a two-step model (participation acceptance performance) with which participation could be tested more effectively. Stepwise, hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that the participative and representative groups outperformed the assigned groups under conditions in which individual goal acceptance varied. The findings support the two-step model and offer an explanation as to why previous research has failed to differentiate empirically between participative and assigned goal setting.

Is Group Productivity Loss the Rule or The Exception? Effects of Culture and Group-Based Motivation

This study examined four causes of group performance loss: goal specificity, communication, incentives for goal attainment, and high versus low cultural collectivism. Subjects were managers from Is...

WHEN COLLECTIVE- AND SELF-EFFICACY AFFECT TEAM PERFORMANCE The Role of Task Interdependence

The study examined task interdependence as a structural factor, which influences the emergence of collective-efficacy versus self-efficacy as a team-level construct. It tested for the differential effects of self- and collective-efficacy on team performance and the effects of initial perceptions of self- and collective-efficacy and record of past performance on the development of their subsequent perceptions. Results of a laboratory study demonstrated that collective-efficacy solidified as a meaningful team construct and influenced team performance only when a highly interdependent task required team members to closely interact and coordinate their efforts. Under conditions of low task interdependence, collective-efficacy had no basis from which to emerge as a higher level team characteristic and no significance in what is, in essence, individual performances. In contrast, self-efficacy emerged as a meaningful construct that explained individual performance under low task interdependence conditions.

The Effects of Intra-individual Goal Conflict on Performance

Two studies are reported on an aspect of goal setting that has not been explicitly researched to date, namely, intra-individual goal conflict. The first study utilized an experimental, laboratory design using student teams in which conflicting goals (quantity vs. quality) were assigned. The second study was a correlational, field study of college professors which measured conflict between teaching and research. In both studies conflict was negatively related to at least one performance outcome. This negative association was not mediated by goal commitment, goal priority, goal level or task strategies in either study. In both cases, the main source of the conflict was pressure.

Innovation and Attention to Detail in the Quality Improvement Paradigm

This study asserted that quality improvement (QI) requires the coexistence of two cultural values of innovation and attention to detail and proposed that their coexistence depends on the implementation of multiple QI practices. A longitudinal QI intervention, with five phases, consisting of multiple QI practices--ISO 9000, QI teams, quality goals, and coaching and communication by top management--was implemented.Participants were 425 employees working in 18 departments of four manufacturing plants. The QI practices were implemented in a different order in each one of the plants. Measures were assessed five times, at the end of each implementation phase. We used hierarchical linear models (HLM) to account for the nested structure of departments within the plants and the five repeated measures.Findings demonstrated that the above-mentioned QI practices had differential effects on innovation and attention to detail: ISO 9000 positively affected attention to detail but negatively affected innovation. Both QI teams and quality goals positively affected innovation. Thus, the multiple QI initiative enabled the coexistence of the two aforementioned cultural values. Both cultural values had a positive impact on performance quality and productivity and partially mediated the effects of ISO 9000 on productivity.

Nationality and work role interactions: A cultural contrast of Israeli and U.S. entrepreneurs' versus managers' needs

Abstract The globalization of business ventures and the parallel search for sources of international competitive advantage have stimulated research relating cultural differences to entrepreneurial and managerial behaviors. Recent work by McGrath, MacMillan, and Scheinberg (1992) encouraged studies of managers and entrepreneurs in different cultures, suggesting that these comparisons may “… shed additional light into the interrelations between social structure, wealth creation, and cultural beliefs” (McGrath el at. 1992, p. 116). This study follows that advice. Cultural differences are powerful determinants of behavior, and many studies support the notion that managerial behavior must adapt to the national cultural setting to achieve success. A growing stream of entrepreneurial behavior research has explored differences in motivational needs between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs of different countries, and found parallel differences across cultures. Given these views, we might expect to find need differences between entrepreneurs and managers within countries however, some entrepreneurship researchers have concluded that U.S. managers and entrepreneurs are more alike than different. To better understand need profile differences between and within cultures, we use a theory that suggests that culture is an important determinant of work behavior. The process through which culture affects work behaviors is described in “Cultural Self-representation Theory” (Erez and Earley, 1993). Based upon this theory, inferences from the entrepreneurial archetype, and analysis of the contrast between the cultures of Israel and the U.S., we propose that: (1) entrepreneurs and managers have different motivational needs within some national cultures, and (2) across national cultures there are systematic differences in motivational needs. Based on these premises, an interaction hypothesis between work role and nationality is suggested because of the importance of both culture and work role in determining motivational need differences. Data are collected from over 370 Israeli and U.S. entrepreneurs and managers. Results support cultural self-representation theory for the Israeli-U.S. and entrepreneur-manager case, because interactions between nationality and work role are exposed for various needs. This finding suggests that cultural differences are indeed important for understanding management motivational needs in different nations, and that the effectiveness of entrepreneurial approaches to management may be culture-sensitive. The study illustrates work-role differences between Israeli managers and entrepreneurs. We confirm past conclusions about U.S. entrepreneur-manager need similarities, and suggest that these need similarities are supported by the individualistic culture within U.S. organizations.

Creativity: The Influence of Cultural, Social, and Work Contexts

The present article aims to answer the question of whether creativity is universal or culture-specific. We develop a conceptual framework that expands the existing knowledge in two ways. First, it distinguishes between the two dimensions of creativity – novelty and usefulness, and their relationship to culture. Second, it clarifies how the social context moderates the relationship between culture and creativity. We focus on the social context where cultural differences are likely to be more salient because of the presence of others, relative to the private work context where no one observes whether a person performs in a normative or a unique way. In addition, we propose that task structure, whether a task is tightly or loosely structured, is an important contextual characteristic that moderates the relationship between culture and creativity. Lastly, we offer several propositions to guide future research.

The Congruence of Goal-Setting Strategies With Socio-Cultural Values and its Effect on Performance

The congruence between goal-setting strategies and socio-cultural values of the working environment was investigated in this study. A 3 x 3 factorial design was used to compare kibbutz, public (Histadrut), and private sectors with respect to the goal-setting strategies of group participation, participation by representation, and no participation. Subjects were 135 first-level supervisors who evaluated forms of task descriptions filled out by their subordinates. Performance was measured by the number of descriptions checked by the supervisors. Results indicated that in the private sector, the most effective strategy was assigned goals; in the public sector, participation by representation; and in the kibbutz, group participation. The implications of thesefindings for participation in goal setting and decision making are discussed.

Effects of goal difficulty, self-set goals, and monetary rewards on dual task performance

Abstract The present study tests the effects of goal difficulty, goal origin (self-set vs assigned), and monetary rewards (present vs absent) on the simultaneous performance of two tasks (dual-task paradigm). Participants were 32 students working simultaneously on a computerized task of letter typing with the right hand and digit classification with the left hand. A 2 (self-set vs assigned goals) × 2 (present vs absent contingent monetary rewards) × 3 (easy, moderate, and difficult goals) factorial design with goal difficulty as the repeated factor was employed. Each task element was performed under easy, moderate, and difficult goals, which appeared in six consecutive trials of varied order within each experimental condition. Results indicate that self-set goals without monetary rewards led to the highest performance levels, whereas the combination of self-set goals and monetary rewards was detrimental to performance. These findings occurred (except in one case) only when goals were of either moderate Or high difficulty.

Work values of youth: Effects of sex or sex role typing?☆

Abstract The study investigates the mediating effect of sex role typing on the relationship between sex and preferences for work values. A total of 192 boys and 292 girls in the 11th grade responded to questionnaires which included measures of eight work values, Bem Sex Role Inventory, biographical data, and two sociopsychological factors—social desirability (the willingness to please others) and subjective norm (the perceived influence of significant others). Results demonstrated that less than 50% of the boys and girls were classified as masculine and feminine, respectively. The sex role typing mediated the relationship between sex and preference for socially oriented work values. Both the feminine and the androgynous types showed high preferences for socially oriented work values. In addition, the perceived influence of significant others, as measured by the subjective norm, was related to the preferences given to four of the values. Sex had a direct effect on two values only—independence and leisure. Unlike the traditional sex role stereotypes, girls showed higher preferences for independence and lower preferences for leisure than boys. The trend for the six other values is toward a congruence between boys and girls in their value preferences.