Robert W. Eder

The contributory effects of supervisor intentions on subordinate feedback responses

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the contributory effects of perceived supervisor intentions on subordinate reactions, motivation to improve, and feedback seeding behavior when a supervisor provides informal feedback. One hundred eighty-four participants responded to scenarios within the context of their current work situations in which feedback sign (positive/negative), supervisor feedback giving behavioral style (effective/ineffective), and supervisor intentions (constructive/mixed/nonconstructive) were manipulated in a 2 × 2 × 3 factorial design. The results provided further support for the impact of feedback sign and supervisor behavior on subordinate feedback reactions and responses. Intention perceptions interacted with feedback sign to affect feedback reactions and, as a main effect, significantly contributed to the variance explained for each of the three dependent variables. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for the feedback process and suggestions are offered for future research on subordinate reactions and responses to supervisor feedback.

Hospitality research: Reassessing our strategy

Applied research predominates in the hospitality field. While such research may answer an immediate need, the findings are often perishable and do not contribute to the disciplines knowledge base

Opening the Mirage The Human-Resources Challenge

When the owners of the Mirage decided to skip the soft opening, the pre-opening staff put great effort into recruitment and training. The results were surprising and successful

Measuring Subordinate Perceptions of Supervisor Feedback Intentions: Some Unsettling Results

To demonstrate the importance of subordinate perceptions of supervisor intentions in the feedback process, individuals were asked to report the perceived efficacy of supervisor intentions under a variety of criteria related to the impact of supervisor feedback. In Study 1, 49 participants were asked to generate an exhaustive list of all possible supervisor feedback intentions. In Study 2, 220 participants were asked to evaluate the perceived frequency of the supervisor intentions generated in Study 1, and the extent to which the supervisor intentions were related to four outcome criteria (self-evaluation, building relationships, self-serving for the supervisor, and facilitating subordinate productivity). It was found that subordinates do make fine distinctions concerning their perceptions of supervisor intentions for providing feedback. The research and practical implications of these results are discussed.

Measures of Managerial Effectiveness in the Hotel Industry

A study was conducted to capture the underlying dimensional structure of outcome measures used to evaluate general hotel manager effectiveness in large hotel chains. Seventy-three hotel executives and general managers completed a survey of the frequency and importance of 23 distinct effectiveness measures used in their firm. Factor analysis revealed three independent dimensions: short-term profit indicators, tangible results (i.e., budget compliance, sales growth, guest comment cards), and intangible factors ( i.e., employee morale, market share changes, and guest complaint letters). Projected linkages between key manager behaviors and these effectiveness dimensions are discussed within an integrated hotel manager evaluation framework. Implications forpractice and further research are discussed.

Priming performance self-evaluations: Moderating effects of rating purpose and judgment confidence

Abstract A field experiment was conducted to investigate the moderating effects of rating purpose (research only vs grading impact) and judgment confidence on the differential priming of performance self-evaluations (i.e., making salient positive or negative information during memory recall) using the G. R. Salancik and M. Conway (1975, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 32 , 829–840) behavioral checklist methodology. Hierarchical regression analysis results suggested that external priming attempts to cue the individual to reduce self-ratings under an evaluative purpose may actually raise, not lower, self-evaluations on performance criteria that are less susceptible to external validation. Judgment confidence effects were more mixed with indications that confidence both moderates the reaction to negative priming efforts and has a main effect on some self-evaluation criteria. Implications for social information processing theory and evaluator practice are discussed.

“Paying Your Dues” in the Hospitality Industry: How Functional is the Belief?

One of the central beliefs about career success within the hospitality industry is that new employees must “pay their dues.” In Study 1, free-response format interviews with 40 hospitality program graduates generated functional and dysfunctional connotations of this belief statement for both the individual and the organization. In Study 2, 35 graduating seniors were asked to describe the extent to which the “pay your dues” message was present during job interviews. Future research and implications for surfacing and rethinking this belief are discussed.

Strategies for Conducting Research In The Hospitality Industry

This paper addresses fundamental research dilemmas, strategies, and tactics facing hospitality educators within the context of increasing industry and university expectations for research productivity. To date, collective hospitality research output has tended to be highly fragmented due to such factors as the wide variance in faculty academic preparation, the absence of uniform accreditation standards to guide the scope and thrust of scholarship, and the tendency toward topical, problem-oriented investigations. Ironically, recent literature reviews have suggested that even the predominant problem-oriented research approach has been of little value to the ongoing concerns of hotel and restaurant firms. In comparison with opportunistic and eclectic strategies, a programmatic research strategy is offered as one key to increasing the likelihood of publications that make a significant contribution to the hospitality literature. Tactical issues discussed include choosing a research stream, colleague collaboration within ones discipline, enrichment of theory and research methods, and increasing institutional research support. Current and future hospitality faculty should be encouraged to implement a programmatic research strategy in order to make real progress in solving the critical issues that confront the industry.

Increasing Productivity Through Performance Appraisal/Assessing Performance Appraisal

The article reviews several books, including “Increasing Productivity Through Performance Appraisal,” by Gary P. Latham and Kenneth N. Wexley and “Assessing Performance Appraisal,” by Marshall Sashkin.