Robert A. Roe

Trust within teams: The relation with performance effectiveness

The acknowledgement that trust is important for the functioning of organizations has increased the demand for research showing how this importance is reflected on the behaviour of its members. In this article we focus on trust within teams and explore the relation with performance effectiveness. A model was tested relating trust with perceived task performance, team satisfaction, relationship commitment, and stress. In this model trust is presented as a multi-component variable with distinct but related dimensions. These include propensity to trust, perceived trustworthiness, cooperative and monitoring behaviours. Data from 112 teams collected in three social care institutions in The Netherlands were analysed with structural equation modelling to test the model. The results are supportive of the multi-component structure of trust and confirmed the importance of trust for the functioning of teams in organizations. The results suggest that trust is positively related with perceived task performance, team satisfaction, and relationship commitment, and negatively related with stress. In addition, perceived task performance was positively related with team satisfaction.

A review of the time management literature

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to provide an overview for those interested in the current state‐of‐the‐art in time management research.Design/methodology/approach – This review includes 32 empirical studies on time management conducted between 1982 and 2004.Findings – The review demonstrates that time management behaviours relate positively to perceived control of time, job satisfaction, and health, and negatively to stress. The relationship with work and academic performance is not clear. Time management training seems to enhance time management skills, but this does not automatically transfer to better performance.Research limitations/implications – The reviewed research displays several limitations. First, time management has been defined and operationalised in a variety of ways. Some instruments were not reliable or valid, which could account for unstable findings. Second, many of the studies were based on cross‐sectional surveys and used self‐reports only. Third, very little attention was g...

What makes a competent psychologist

In developing European standards for the psychological profession, two main approaches to the definition of professional competence have been proposed. One focuses on the roles and functions psychologists should be able to perform (output model), the other on the educational curricula that should be followed in order to become a psychologist (input model). This article starts with a discussion of both approaches, which leads to the conclusion that neither of them offers a sufficient base for setting adequate professional standards. Next a comprehensive model of occupational competence is presented which comprises both input and output factors. It is indicated how this model can be utilized in defining competence profiles for the psychological specialties, as well as in developing and maintaining competence. Issues covered include: student selection, academic curriculum design, initial professional training, continued professional training, institutional and individual accreditation, and quality assurance.

Value incongruence, job autonomy, and organization-based self-esteem: A self-based perspective on organizational cynicism

Combining the perspectives of person-environment fit and self-theory, a model was postulated in which both the incongruence between personal and perceived organizational values and job autonomy precede organizational cynicism, while organization-based self-esteem, as a psychological explanation for cynicism, was hypothesized to mediate both relationships. The model and corresponding hypotheses were tested on a sample of 174 Dutch workers. Polynomial regression results indicated that value incongruence and job autonomy add significantly to the prediction of organizational cynicism. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the hypothesized mediating effect of organization-based self-esteem. Results indicated that self-esteem partially mediates both relationships. These results support the conceptualization of organizational cynicism as a self-defensive response to problematic events and circumstances in the work environment.

Definition and Assessment of Competences in the Context of the European Diploma in Psychology

The European Diploma in Psychology defines a common European standard for the competences required to practice as a psychologist. This paper describes how that standard was developed and defined, and why it was considered important to bring together the traditional input-based specification of professional competence, in terms of curriculum and training course content, with a more outcome-oriented approach that focuses on the competences that a professional psychologist needs to demonstrate in practice. The paper addresses three specific questions. What are the competences that a psychologist should possess? Are these competences the same for all areas of practice within professional psychology? How can these competences be assessed?

Need for Supervision: Its Impact on Leadership Effectiveness

This article argues that the need for supervision among subordinates is a concept that can help to differentiate between circumstances in which leaders do and do not affect subordinate behavior. Need for supervision is defined as a contextual need, the salience of which depends on situational factors. A theoretical model is presented in which need for supervision depends on situational factors known from situational leadership theories and moderates the relationship between leadership styles and outcome variables. Two studies of insurance agents provide evidence for the reliability and construct validity of a scale designed to measure need for supervision. Moderated regression analysis shows that need for supervision moderates the relationship between task-oriented leadership and work stress, but not between task-oriented leadership and job satisfaction. A robust relationship between human-oriented leadership and job satisfaction is found, not affected by the need for supervision. Need for supervision seems to be a fruitful concept that deserves further research.

Time and change in teams: Where we are and where we are moving

In this introduction to the special issue on Time and Change in Teams, we argue that the field of team research shows signs of a problem-method misfit with respect to the study of processes. Drawing on the distinction between differential and temporal (or variable vs. process) research, we scrutinise recent theories and research practices in the field, aiming to better understand the lack of congruence between research objectives and methods. We also discuss ways in which the gap between theory and method can be narrowed, and how the five studies making up this special issue contribute to this. We conclude with suggesting some future directions for the study of time and change in teams.

Telematics and Work

Foreword. Preface. Roe, Reflections on Telematics and Work: Conceptual and Methodological Issues. Section I: The Infrastructural Context. Weltevreden, The Telecommunications Strategy of the European Community. Kubicek, Different Options for the Developments of Telecommunication Infrastructures. Slaa, Videotex as an Intermediate Service. Section II: Telematics Applications and Their Impacts on Work Organizations. Rice, Steinfield, Experiences with New Forms of Organizational Communication via Electronic Mail and Voice Messaging. Rogard, Experimentation with Electronic Mail in the Banking Sector: A Case Study. Rodriguez, Towards ISDN: The Implications of the Introduction of an Integrated Digital Services Network and Telematic Services for a Telecommunications Company. Peiro, Prieto, Telematics and Organizational Structure and Processes: An Overview. Section III: Work Arrangements and Organizational Restructuring. Kohler, Computer Conferencing Competence: Methodological Contributions to the Development of Good Computer Support for Human Communication at Work. Morley, Computer Supported Co?operative Work and Engineering Product Design. Holti, Telematics, Work Places and Homes: The Evolving Picture of Teleworking. Craipeau, Telematics and Corporate Regulations. Smeds, Computerization and Strategy-structural Development of an Industrial Organization. Section IV: Design and Implementation Process. Eason, Harker, Tele-informatic Systems to Meet Organizational Requirements. Qvortrup, Telematics and Organizational Communication: Trends in Organizational Communication Theories. Ciborra, Lanzara, Designing Networks in Action: Formative Contexts and Reflective Intervention. Andriessen, Conditions for Successful Adoption and Implementation of Telematics in User Organizations. Epilogue. List of Abbreviations.

Test validity from a temporal perspective: Incorporating time in validation research

As psychological theories and methodologies are increasingly being permeated with time, the need for reviewing and updating test validation practices is becoming apparent. After a brief comparison of the differential (between-subjects) and temporal (within-subjects) approaches to psychological research, this article examines the role that time has played in traditional validation research, and identifies a number of conceptual and methodological shortcomings that complicate meta-analysis, hamper theory building, and limit practical applications. Starting from the assumption that human traits and behaviours unfold over time, and that stability is a special form of change, it argues that time should be an explicit part of any measurement, either test or criterion, and that validation should include an evaluation of dynamic aspects of the test–criterion relationship. It furthermore argues that when stability is assumed, its temporal boundaries should be marked and supporting evidence be presented, using instruments displaying measurement invariance over time. The article continues to present a framework based on a Variables × Subjects × Time data model, and distinguishes four conditions for validation, namely (1) stable predictor, stable criterion, (2) stable predictor, dynamic criterion, (3) dynamic predictor, stable criterion, and (4) dynamic predictor, dynamic criterion, which allow the definition of five new types of validity. It discusses implications for validation practice, meta-analysis, and theory development as well as for practical applications.

New concepts for a new age: Information service organizations and mental information work

Abstract To describe and conceptualize new forms of work and organization a questionnaire survey in service organizations (n = 845), and a telephone survey among workers (n = 1168) were held. New concepts are introduced to identify the types of work and organization found, i.e. “Information Service Organization” (ISO) and “Mental Information Work” (MIW). ISOs are characterized by activities such as collecting, storing, and processing data; advising people; and informing people. They also make a lot of use of IT (computers, programs) and electronic network connections. Most ISOs appear to be traditional in terms of working hours and places of work. MIW is a form of knowledge work characterized by mental manipulations of information; IT is often used. Flexi-time is relatively frequent in MIW, but most people work on a fixed place of work.