Orlando Behling

The Postulates of Expectancy Theory

This article reviews the basic expectancy formulation of work effort theory and touches briefly on some elaborations of it. It is pointed out that both the basic and elaborated versions rest on cer...

The Herzberg Controversy: A Critical Reappraisal

Substantial empirical evidence is available in support of both Herzbergs duality theory of job satisfaction and more conventional uniscalar explanations. This article breaks the deadlock by emphas...

A Test of Two Postulates Underlying Expectancy Theory

The descriptive accuracy of two of the axioms underlying expectancy theory—independence and transitivity —is examined. It was found that many individuals did not make work effort decisions in a man...

Small group adaptation to unprogrammed change

Abstract One of the least understood phenomena in task-oriented team performance is the manner of adjustment to unprogrammed changes. These may be defined as changes emanating from forces exogenous to the group or as a result of unanticipated forces within the group. This study investigated the way in which teams detect and compensate for such changes. Through an introduction of experimental confederates into task-oriented work teams, it was possible to manipulate various aspects of the adjustmental process and to determine that the nature of the change and the pattern of attack on the problem employed by the team influenced their ability to adjust to unprogrammed change. There were no significant effects on adjustment found attributable to variations in the number of successful applications of an original decision rule. Nor was any effect found which could be ascribed to the interaction of the nature of the deviation from the original rule and the number of successful applications of the rule. Team success in developing compensatory decision rules when confronted with unprogrammed change was correlated with the case of development of the original decision rule. No evidence of a relationship between absolute scores on the flexibility scale of the California Psychological Inventory and role taken by individual team members was found.

Tests of expectancy theory predictions of effort: A simulation study comparing simple and complex models

Abstract The authors summarize existing studies of expectancy theories of work effort and conclude that simple additive models generally predict effort as well as, or better than, more complex multiplicative ones. An attempt is made to explain the empirical findings using a computer simulation. The results of the simulation indicate that reasonable amounts of measurement error invalidate attempts to show that one combination of valence, expectancy, and instrumentality is a better predictor of work effort than any other. The authors conclude that even though questions regarding complex interactions cannot be answered, valence, expectancy, and instrumentality, taken independently, appear to be important determinants of work effort and point out areas where future research is needed.

Functionalism as a Base for Midrange Theory in Organizational Behavior/Theory

Understanding anything as complex as a large, formal organization is obviously difficult. It is a task which, subjectively, appears to be progressing unevenly in Organizational Behavior/Theory, the discipline charged with investigating organizations and the groups and persons who make them up. In this paper we consider functionally based analyses as supplements to and perhaps even replacements for the invariant order midrange theories currently in use in Organizational Behavior/ Theory. Specifically, we: (1) define and describe functionalism and comment briefly on its history in other disciplines; (2) indicate why it may be especially suited to serve, if not as “an all-inclusive speculation comprising a master conceptual scheme” (Merton, 1957: 6), at least as a solid basis for midrange theory in Organizational Behavior/Theory; (3) identify some of the pitfalls that threaten the unwary functional analyst and which in no small measure led to the decline of the paradigm in sociology and anthropology; and (4) provide an example of how a functional analysis might proceed in Organizational Behavior/Theory in the form of a crude functional analysis of leadership.

Professionals in Search of Work: Coping with the Stress of Job Loss and Underemployment

This article presents a review of the book “Professionals in Search of Work: Coping With the Stress of Job Loss and Underemployment,” by H.G. Kaufman.

A Rejoinder to Nord

Nord raises several important points regarding “Functionalism as a Basis for Midrange Theory in Organizational Behavior/Theory,” four of which clearly deserve some sort of response. He holds that: 1. The applicability of functional analysis may be severely limited if we require that functional unity be demonstrated before it is applied to a particular organization or phenomenon. 2. Functionalism emphasizes the merits of particular activities for managers who control the organization, rather than leading to an understanding of their merits for a variety of additional interests. 3. Functionalism has a conservative bias; that is, it tends to be used to justify the continuation of present practices in the face of challenges to the existing order. 4. The benefits of functional analysis as an alternative to more conventional frameworks for the study of organizations needs to be demonstrated more clearly.

HAY AND GRAY'S PHASES OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT.

This paper (1) summarizes an article by Hay and Gray, (2) reports on the development of a scale to measure their conceptualization of six value areas of managerial social responsibility, and (3) describes a test of the hypothesis that the value areas are part of an overall concept of social responsibility. The results show that these value areas, when operationalized as specified by Hay and Gray, are independent and do not form an overall concept of social responsibility. Implications for further research are discussed.