Thomas I. Chacko

Member participation in union activities: Perceptions of union priorities, performance, and satisfaction

Data obtained from union respondents of a survey using a national probability sample that is representative of the U.S. labor force revealed that members’ perceptions of their unions’ effectiveness in obtaining both extrinsic and intrinsic benefits and the unions’ responsiveness to membership were significantly related to member participation in union activities. Union satisfaction was inversely related to participation. Perceptions of union power and service and demographic variables, such as age and education, were found to have less significant linkages with member participation.

The Cognitive Component in Locke's Theory of Goal Setting: Suggestive Evidence for a Causal Attribution Interpretation

Two laboratory experiments examined the role of causal attributions as the cognitive component in Lockes (1968) model of goal setting. Environmental incentives were found to be subject to causal i...

Perceptions of union power, service, and confidence in labor leaders: A study of member and nonmember differences

Attitudes toward specific aspects of unionization held by the subjects of large national samples of the U.S. work force (the1977 Quality of Employment Survey) and the general population (the1972–1978 General Social Surveys) are examined in two separate analyses. Comparisons of the attitudes held by union members and nonmembers are made on specific dimensions of union power and service and confidence in union leaders. Nonmembers are found to have stronger perceptions that unions are influential in running the country and that unions are stronger than employers. Conversely, union members have stronger perceptions that unions offer protection, job security, improve wages and conditions of work, are worth their dues, and have greater confidence in union leaders. Discriminant analysis of data over a five-year period also revealed that union members have a stable higher confidence level in union leaders than nonmembers. Explanations for such union member and nonmember differences are hypothesized.

An examination of strategic goals and management practices of Russian enterprises

Since glasnost and perestroika, the Russian industrial complex has looked to the west for both financial and managerial guidance. The free market context has apparently suggested to Russian managers that contemporary management practices be considered for competitive success. This study examines how well a sample of Russian managers has perceived the need for such practices and how well they perceive these practices to be related to their competitiveness.

An Examination of the Affective Consequences of Assigned and Self-Set Goals:

This study attempts to provide some insights into the goal-setting process and to explain the inconsistent findings in the literature concerning the effect of different goal-setting modes on subsequent affective reactions. This examination was conducted within an attribution theory framework. The subjects were 92 undergraduate business students and the experimental task consisted of proofreading a manuscript. The subjects were randomly assigned to two goal-setting modes-self-set and assigned. Subjects causal attributions to performance reports of success and failure as well as their affective reactions were measured. The results suggest that ones affective reactions may not be influenced by goal-setting modes but may be moderated by the causal attributions one makes in response to performance cues.