Robert M. Guion

A reevaluation of the absenteeism-job satisfaction relationship

Previous reviews of the relationship of employee absenteeism to job satisfaction have largely neglected the size of the relationships reported and the artifacts that can affect statistical tests of significance. This paper applies the F. L. Schmidt-J. E. Hunter (1977, Journal of Applied Psychology, 62, 529-540) model of validity generalization in assessing the nature and strength of the relationship of absence to attitudes. Issues concerning the reliability and validity of absence measures are addressed, correlations between absence and job satisfaction are compiled and summarized, and an agenda for future research is set out. Considering the reliability estimates reported for the Frequency, Attitudinal, and Time Lost indices, the Time Lost Index was found to be the most reliable (r xx = .66, SD = .28). Factor analyses of intercorrelations among absence measures provided tentative support for a voluntary-involuntary absenteeism distinction. Combining all measures of satisfaction and all measures of absences, the mean correlation between absence and attitudes is -.09 (SD = .13). In addition to more comprehensive theory-guided multivariate research, future studies should aim toward a reconceptualization of absenteeism as a construct to take into consideration the perceptions of the workers themselves.

A note on organizational climate

Abstract The idea of “organizational climate” appears to refer to an attribute, or set of attributes, of the work environment. The idea of a “perceived organizational climate” seems ambiguous; one can not be sure whether it implies an attribute of the organization or of the perceiving individual. If it refers to the organization, then measures of perceived organizational climate should be evaluated in terms of the accuracy of the perceptions. If it refers to the individual, then perceived organizational climate may simply be a different name for job satisfaction or employee attitudes.

Content Validity—The Source of My Discontent

The concept of content validity takes on special importance where invoked to justify use of a test. The term 1) refers to psychological measurement, 2) using samples of behavior, sampling both stimu lus and response components, and 3) implies repre sentativeness in sampling. Examples are given to show that content sampling may be considered a form of operationalism in defining constructs. Five conditions are proposed as necessary if one is to ac cept the use of a measuring instrument as a valid operational definition on the basis of content samp ling alone.

Development of scales for the measurement of work motivation

Abstract Seven behaviorally anchored scales were constructed to measure the motivation to work of engineers via peer ratings of effort. Dimensions were nominated and defined, and appropriate behavior items written and retranslated, by preliminary groups; other engineering groups assigned scale values to items in an iterative procedure, and another rated peers using the resulting scales. Inter-rater reliability was judged adequate on the seven dimensions and held up through four replications. Most of the resulting scales seemed applicable to a broad range of occupations. Factor analysis indicated that the seven dimensions could be accounted for by four factors.

Some virtues of dissatisfaction in the science and practice of personnel selection

Abstract Dissatisfaction with traditional ways of thinking and doing things can either be mere reaction to tradition or useful in developing .improvements in the scientific foundations and practices of management. In the specific field of employee selection, seven areas of dissatisfaction are enumerated and discussed. In most of them, those who have published their dissatisfactions have also pointed to ways to do things better. The conclusion is that dissatisfaction can point to ways to expand the options in the way employee selection programs are conceived and operated, without total abandonment of the valuable results that have accrued from traditional practice.

Social desirability response bias as one source of the discrepancy between subjective weights and regression weights

Abstract This study of the judgment process investigated whether social desirability response bias is more closely associated with directly weighted subjective weights than less directly assessed regression weights. Graduating college students indicated their preferences for 11 job characteristics in four different tasks: (a) a statistical weighting task completed honestly, (b) a statistical weighting task completed to “look good” to a recruiter, (c) a subjective weighting task completed honestly, and (d) a subjective weighting task completed to “look good” to a recruiter. Predicted judgments were calculated from the weights obtained in each condition. Pearson correlation coefficients using these predicted judgments were computed between conditions; the relationship between the honest and positive impression predicted judgments derived from subjective weights was significantly greater than the relationship between honest and positive impression predicted judgments derived from regression weights for 19 of 23 participants. It was concluded that social desirability response bias was more closely related to subjective weights than to regression Weights.

The meaning of work and the motivation to work

Abstract It was hypothesized that work motivation is, under certain conditions, a function of the meaning of work. Work motivation was measured by peer ratings, using a series of behaviorally anchored rating scales, and the meaning of work was measured by a set of semantic differential scales; the sample consisted of newly graduated engineers. Some support, although slight, is obtained for the hypothesis in general. The relationship is most likely to apply to a specific sort of employee: one who is task-oriented and low in general activity level. A secondary conclusion is that meaning of work, as measured by the semantic differential scales, is closely related to the more general concept of job satisfaction, although it predicts peer ratings of motivation better than does job satisfaction, as measured by the Job Descriptive Index.

Latent trait theory for organizational research

Abstract Latent trait theory is a relatively new development in measurement theory; emphasis in its application has been placed mainly on the measurement of ability, but potential areas of application extend well beyond into measurement of job and organizational characteristics, measurement of bias and adverse impact in equal employment compliance, attitude measurement, and the measurement of performance. The theories and models grouped under latent trait theory are therefore presented, in simple, nonmathematical form, for consideration by industrial and organizational psychologists. The rationale stems from problems encountered in classical psychometric theory with its practical dependence on distributions of attributes in samples and its theoretical dependence on parallel forms, problems alleviated by the use of latent trait analyses. This article presents some basic concepts and some available computer programs. Some controversies and unresolved problems are examined from a practical perspective.

An SK BARS System: Ongoing Performance Management With Municipal Police:

We present a possible solution to two seemingly paradoxical issues: (a) widespread dissatisfaction with performance management and (b) increased demand for accountability in the public sector. The current article draws from our experience with a municipal police division to clarify and extend Smith and Kendall’s Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales process to an ongoing performance management system. The resulting system holds promise for being less perfunctory and paternalistic than traditional performance management systems, while fostering transparency and accountability.

Standards for Psychological Measurement

Three generations of the documents informally known as “testing standards” have been published (American Psychological Association, American Educational Research Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education, 1954, 1966, 1974). The first two documents described the proper content of manuals provided by publishers to accompany tests; they were primarily standards of information. The third added requirements for test users.