Seymour Adler

A Comparison of the Work Needs, Attitudes, and Preferences of Professional Accountants at Different Career Stages.

Abstract Although the concept of career stages has played an increasingly important role in vocational psychology, little research exists on career stage differences among professionals. In the present study, a sample of male professional accountants ( N = 764) at different career stages were compared with respect to their work needs, work attitudes (intrinsic and extrinsic satisfaction, organizational and professional commitment), and vocational preferences. Accountants at different stages were found to differ significantly in their needs, work attitudes, and the extent to which they fit the Conventional type in Hollands model. In particular, accountants over the age of 60, in the preretirement stage of their career, when compared to their younger counterparts, reported significantly lower levels of job satisfaction but higher levels of organizational and professional commitment, and they demonstrate weaker higher-order needs but stronger security needs.

Person- versus computer-mediated feedback

Abstract The effects of feedback provided by a person versus that provided by a computer on performance, motivation, and feedback seeking were studied. Employing a 2 × 3 experimental design, subjects were assigned to one of three feedback conditions: (a) no feedback, (b) feedback only upon request, and (c) automatic feedback with feedback provided either by a person or a computer. The results indicate that (a) subjects are more likely to seek feedback from a computer than from another person; (b) feedback from a person causes a decline in performance relative to a condition where a person is present but does not deliver feedback; (c) both human- and computer-mediated feedback reduce motivation in comparison to a control group that receives no feedback; and (d) personality — in this case, self-esteem and public and private self-consciousness — interacts with the receipt of person-mediated feedback to negatively affect performance.

Job characteristics and job satisfaction: When cause becomes consequence

Abstract The present study examined the causal influence of cues concerning an individuals own task satisfaction on subsequent task descriptions. In two separate experiments, subjects performed a laboratory task and completed a task satisfaction instrument. Subjects were then randomly told that their scores indicated either a high or low level of satisfaction. In the first experiment, in which the task was performed individually, subjects given satisfaction feedback rated the task as higher in job scope on the Job Diagnostic Survey than subjects given dissatisfaction feedback. In the second experiment, in which the task was performed in three-person groups, subjects given satisfaction feedback, as compared with those given dissatisfaction feedback, rated the group atmosphere, the physical environment, and other characteristics of the task situation as having been more positive. The results of these experiments raise serious questions about the previous causal interpretations for job characteristics—job satisfaction correlations based on cross-sectional, self-report data.

TOWARD THE MORE EFFICIENT USE OF ASSESSMENT CENTER TECHNOLOGY IN PERSONNEL SELECTION

Empirical research has consistently supported the validity and business utility of the assessment center method as a selection instrument. Nonetheless, the method as typically applied may be unnecessarily costly and inflexible. This paper begins by describing how the model for assessment center design that is widely used today came to be accepted as a standard. Then modifications in design and operation are discussed. These suggested modifications are intended to enhance the utility and flexibility of assessment centers, while at the same time maintaining, or even increasing, the validity of the process.