Steven E. Markham

On the application of within and between analysis: Are absence and affect really group-based phenomena?

George (1990) examined personality, affect, and absence behavior as group-leved phenomena. The recognition of level of analysis issues in that study was important, and the formulation of group-level hypotheses was interesting. However, the incomplete application of within and between analysis (WABA) led to suspect conclusions about group-based effects. The current study reexamined and reinterpreted Georges results in light of an appropriate application of WABA. Personality, affect, and absence behavior appear to be based primarily on individual rather than group differences

Individualized leadership: A new multiple-level approach

Abstract A model of “individualized leadership” from the perspective of formally assigned superiors and subordinates is developed and tested. “Leadership” is defined as occurring when a superior is able to secure satisfying performance from a subordinate. It is shown that one mechanism for securing leadership is for a superior to provide support for a subordinates feelings of self-worth. Analysis of data from U.S. and foreign sources indicate that in the absence of support for a subordinates feelings of self-worth, a superior will not become a leader for that subordinate or receive satisfying performance. In contrast to traditional approaches, the authors show that to be successful, leadership efforts must vary within and between work groups, depending on the individual (subordinate) with whom a superior interacts; thus, the term “individualized leadership.”

Declining Organizational Size and Increasing Unemployment Rates: Predicting Employee Absenteeism from Within- And Between-Plant Perspectives

The impact of increasing unemployment rates and decreasing organizational size on absenteeism was assessed for pooled monthly data from 17 plants over a five-year period. As the organizations becam...

Self-management and self-leadership reexamined: A levels-of-analysis perspective

Abstract This article critiques the concepts of self-management and self-leadership from a levels-of-analysis perspective. Conceptual and methodological problems in identifying the most pertinent levels of analysis are noted. We articulate the ways in which the individual, the dyad, the group, and the organization can be theoretically melded into existing self-leadership theory. Suggestions for future research are explored, as well as practical applications in the areas of self-managed work teams and high-performance organizations.

Group Size and Absenteeism Rates: A Longitudinal Analysis

The article presents a study which examined whether absenteeism rates are related to the relative size of work groups as they change over time. The study has utilized data from the organizational r...

An Investigation of the Relationship Between Unemployment and Absenteeism: A Multi-Level Approach

The article discusses research pertaining to the relationship between unemployment and absenteeism at the national level, the regional level, and/or the organizational level. Data on monthly absent...

Within- and between-entity analyses in multilevel research: A leadership example using single level analyses and boundary conditions (MRA).

This article demonstrates the use of within- and between-entity analysis (WABA) to investigate the common data set used in this special issue (N=2042 individual soldiers and J=49 Army companies). The purpose of this paper is to illustrate traditional WABA techniques and extend their use in terms of “boundary condition” analysis using multiple relationship analysis (MRA) so as to compare and contrast their results with the other techniques highlighted in this issue. Given a loose interpretation of WABA I, the results indicate that entire companies reporting a positive leadership climate had low levels of psychological hostility. However, the relationship between task significance and psychological hostility appears conditional upon leadership climate. Under poor leadership conditions, the level of task significance in the unit as a whole was negatively related to levels of psychological hostility. In contrast, under good leadership conditions, a lower level of analysis appears to be operative: Individual reports of task significance were negatively related to psychological hostility.

National Gainsharing Study: The Importance of Industry Differences:

This survey of gainsharing plans across industries leads to the conclusion that there are major differences in the degree to which gainsharing is used in various sectors of the U.S. economy.

Leadership Convergence: An Application of Within and Between to Validity

Problems in drawing inferences about leadership phenomena when multiple units of analysis (groups and individuals) simultaneously exist in a data set are addressed. Using a technique recommended by Dan sereau and Dumas (1977), within-unit and between- unit sources of covariation are examined for data con taining matched superior-subordinate reports. In this data set matched superior-subordinate reports were not significantly correlated at the individual level. When supervisory group differences were held constant, however, the relationships between these matched re ports were significantly greater than zero. This conver gent validity within supervisory units suggests an ap proach to validity which is not included in traditional theories of leadership.

Self-Rated Performance and Pay Satisfaction, Merit Increase Satisfaction, and Instrumentality Beliefs in a Merit Pay Environment

The relationship of self-rated performance to pay level satisfaction, merit increase satisfaction, and instrumentality beliefs in a merit pay environment is investigated. Self-rated performance exhibited a significant negative relationship with all three variables beyond that accounted for by control variables. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.