Ronald Karren

A meta-analytic study of the effects of goal setting on task performance: 1966-1984

Abstract A meta-analytic study was conducted involving primarily published research from 1966 to 1984 and focusing on the relationship between goal-setting variables and task performance. Two major sets of studies were analyzed, those contrasting hard goals (goal difficulty) versus easy goals, and those comparing specific hard goals (goal specificity/difficulty) versus general goals, “do best” instructions, or no goal. As expected, strong support was obtained for the goal difficulty and goal specificity/difficulty components of E. A. Lockes (1968a , Organizational Behavior and Human Performance , 3 , 157–189) theory. A two-stage approach was employed to identify potential moderators of the goal difficulty and goal specificity/difficulty—performance relationships. Setting (laboratory versus field) was identified as a moderator of the relationship between goal specificity/difficulty and task performance. Two supplemental meta-analyses yielded support for the efficacy of combining specific hard goals with feedback versus specific hard goals without feedback and for participatively set goals versus assigned goal setting (when goal level is held constant), although this latter finding was interpreted as inconclusive based on the limited studies available. Implications for future research are addressed.

Organizational justice perceptions and pay level satisfaction

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare the relative importance or effects of individual equity, external equity, internal equity, procedural justice, and informational justice on pay level satisfaction.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a policy‐capturing methodology to determine the importance of the five factors and considers both group analyses and individual analyses of the data.Findings – Of the three types of equity, individual equity was the most important factor on pay level satisfaction. External equity and the three other factors were important for many individuals, and this was shown through the individual analyses.Research limitations/implications – The number of scenarios given to each participant was limited due to possible fatigue.Practical implications – The findings will help managers make judgments on how to respond to conflicts between internal alignment and external market conditions. Knowledge of which factors are most important will help managers create more effe...

Layoffs and unemployment discrimination: a new stigma

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to discuss and seek a better understanding of the stigmatization of unemployed workers who have been laid off.Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper which addresses the factors that affect stigmatization and resulting discrimination against laid‐off individuals such as minority status, age, labor markets, job level, and length of unemployment. Issues of categorization and stereotyping of laid‐off workers are explored.Findings – The increased use of layoffs by organizations has created a large class of unemployed workers who, rather than being seen as victims, are perceived to be deficient in their skills and abilities. This stigmatization is seen as more detrimental to laid‐off minorities and older workers as well as those who have been unemployed for long periods of time. The amount of discrimination is likely to be affected by the job market and level of job.Research limitations/implications – Propositions are developed to examine the factors affec...

Drug testing in the workplace: An overview of legal and philosophical issues

This article examines a range of legal and philosophical issues related to the drug-testing debate. The discussion of legal issues includes potential litigation on constitutional grounds (for public employees), statutory and tort grounds, or on the basis of civil rights legislation. Arbitration standards are also examined for situations involving unionized employees. The article further highlights pragmatic issues including the accuracy and costs (economic and noneconomic) of drug tests as well as the distinction between a positive drug test and impaired performance. Finally, the article addresses the delicate balance between an employers right to unimpaired performance and an employees right to privacy.

Introduction to the special issue on job loss

Purpose – The primary purpose of this article is to raise awareness about the need for additional research on job loss. It also aims to provide an introduction to the special issue, and a description of the articles in it.Design/methodology/approach – The article highlights some of the important research on job loss since the early 1990s.Findings – Additional theory and research is needed to assist the well‐being and the job search process of the unemployed.Research limitations/ implications – This article offers suggestions on advancing new research ideas that can be used to assist individuals who have lost their jobs and to organizations that have been involved in a layoff.Practical implications – The article argues that knowledge related to the effects of job loss can be used to assist organizations in promoting programs to enhance the well‐being of laid‐off individuals.Social implications – Research on job loss is needed to address the problems of laid‐off individuals.Originality/value – The article p...

Screening Workers: An Examination and Analysis of Practice and Public Policy

Every employer, unless he or she has no pool of applicants or potential applicants to choose from, engages in hiring choices. While the hiring process may vary, both from one employer to another and from one job to another, some form of screening occurs. In recent years, students of management have noted the proliferation of screening practices in the hiring process, especially in bringing new technologies such as medical and drug testing procedures. Testing and other screening practices, while wide‐ranging both with respect to their ends and means, have raised consistent patterns of concern among job‐seekers, public policy makers and managers themselves. In this monograph a variety of methods of screening and issues of public policy raised by screening procedures are discussed. An overview of United States law regulating the screening process is provided, together with future directions in the area of screening in the US.