Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons^™

Mountain Goat Removal In Olympic National Park: A Case Study Of The Role Of Organizational Culture In Individual Risk Decisions And Behavior, Seth Tuler, Gary E. Machlis, Roger E. Kasperson

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Using a case study, the authors explore the mediating role of organizational culture in individual Risk-taking decisions and behaviors. They argue that organizational culture can establish unique conditions that lead to highly reliable performance of high-Risk, undesired tasks. The authors also discuss the need for further research and its implications for Risk management.

The Effects Of Public-Posted Feedback On The Use Of A Photocopy Machine By Faculty In An Academic Department, Shijing Hu

Masters Theses

This study assessed the effects of a public-posting intervention on photocopy machine use by faculty members in an academic department. Public posting included posting of a chart that displayed number of copies made each week by individual faculty members along with the average cumulative rate of copying for previous weeks for each person. The intervention was applied in an A-B-A reversal design where data were collected prior to the intervention under usual conditions (A), during public posting (B), and after the public posting intervention was removed and usual conditions were restored (A). The results indicated that: (1) number of copies …

The Effect Of Public Posting And Supervisor Recognition On Treatment Team Performance In A Mental Health Institution, Susan Mencarelli

Masters Theses

This study compared the effects of public posting and supervisor recognition on the performance of professional staff in a mental health institution. Eleven indicators of successful performance in the writing of patient treatment plans were established after an analysis of existing standards. Seven treatment teams comprised the subjects of the study and included psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, activity therapists, and residential care aides. Group performance data were used. The measurement and scoring systems which were developed proved to be highly reliable.

Neither form of performance feedback resulted in consistent improvement in performance on any of the eleven indicators. This …

The Effects Of Automation And Task Difficulty On Crew Coordination, Workload, And Performance, Ruth Coleen Thornton

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purposes of this research were two-fold: (1) to assess the reliability and utility of the Aircrew Coordination Observation and Evaluation scales in describing crew coordination behaviors exhibited during flight and (2) to investigate the effects of automation on crew coordination, workload, and performance. Two levels of automation (i.e., presence or absence of an autopilot) and two levels of task difficulty (i.e., presence or absence of wind and turbulence) were combined to yield a 2 x 2 design. Twenty-four two-person crews performed in both levels of automation and one of two levels of task difficulty. The results of the reliability …

Causal Analysis Of A National Study Of Sales Personnel Turnover Functionality, Eric J. Vanetti

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

A causal model of the antecedents of turnover functionality was developed and tested in a national field study of sales representatives from a Fortune 50 company. Turnover functionality was defined in terms of the difference between the performance levels of leavers and stayers in the host organization. Questionnaire data were collected from 1,732 salespeople, and it was predicted that the hypothesized model would be confirmed by the obtained data. Several forms of supporting evidence for the model were obtained. First, the hypothesized model provided a better, more parsimonious fit to the obtained data than did two plausible alternative models. Second, …

The Differential Effects Of Performance Monitoring And Performance Contingent Consequences In A Laboratory Setting, Julie A. Glasser

Masters Theses

A simulated work task, consisting of paper and pencil quality control inspection, was used to examine the effects of performance monitoring and performance-contingent feedback on the quality and quantity of work produced. Six subjects were exposed to two treatment conditions. During monitoring only, a supervisor checked performance by asking subjects about their progress. During performance-contingent feedback, a supervisor informed subjects of the number of correct inspections completed on a sample page and summarized the quality of their work in a brief statement. Performance was measured in terms of error detection accuracy (errors missed and false error detections) and rate of …

A Survey Of Computer Use In Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Sites, Martha E. Parks

Masters Theses

Eighty-three Western Michigan University occupational therapy fieldwork sites were surveyed to determine: (a) extent of computer use, (b) diagnostic categories with which computers are used, (c) extent of computer knowledge of registered occupational therapists (OTRs), and (d) adequacy of computer knowledge of fieldwork students. Forty-seven (56.6%) of the 83 surveys were returned. OTRs at 36 (76.6%) of the 47 sites currently use computers. Word processing is the most common way in which these OTRs use computers. The most common clinical use of computers is perceptual/motor assessment and treatment, while the most common research use of computers is for report writing. …

Developmental Changes In Predictors Of Job Satisfaction For Female Elementary School Teachers, Donna Owens Collier

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

The purpose of this study is to examine predictors of job satisfaction for female elementary school teachers. Specifically, how do personal variables and career variables affect job satisfaction at various age levels?

The subjects in this study were 386 females who teach kindergarten through sixth grade in an urban public school system. A survey was used to collect information about age, personal variables, career variables, and current level of job satisfaction. Personal variables included marital status, number of children and educational level. Career variables included number of years in the teaching profession, number of positions held during the teaching career …

Job Aids, Feedback, And The Teaching Of Verbal-Reasoning, Angela Williams Campbell

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to test the effects of a job aid and feedback on learning to solve directional verbal-reasoning problems, and (2) to examine whether students’ skills transferred to similar problems following the removal of both the job aid and feedback. Some previous researchers who studied problem solving utilized the think-aloud technique and used solutions generated by expert problem solvers. The think-aloud technique, although perhaps a good one, is not practical in the classroom. In the main study, a job aid was incorporated within the problem so students would be able to use guidance toward …

The Impact Of An Employee Involvement Program On Service Quality In A Nursing Home Organization, Diane Catanzaro

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of an intervention involving employee participation in decision making and behavior modeling training on quality of service. Subjects were nursing aides in two similar nursing home facilities operated by a medium-sized long-term care organization. Participation in decision making involved weekly meetings using a quality-circle-type problem-solving process to develop suggestions for improving quality of service to residents and their families. Behavior modeling training was used to teach interpersonal skills necessary for handling a customer complaint. Service quality was assessed through family, resident, and supervisor ratings of nursing aide service behaviors. The …

Gender And The Relationship Between Perceived Fairness Of Pay/Promotion And Job Satisfaction

L. A. Witt

No abstract provided.

Assessing Stress In Teachers: Depressive Symptoms Scales And Neutral Self-Reports Of The Work Environment, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

The focal interest of this chapter on teacher stress is methodologic. The chapter enumerates a number of defects in existing measures of job stress in teachers and, concomitantly, other helping professionals. Alternative ways of measuring stress in teachers are suggested and evaluated. The use of depressive symptom scales in concert with more 'objective' measures of the work environment is discussed. An application of the proposed alternative measurement strategy is described. The wider utility of the measurement strategy is briefly described.

The Assessment Of An Organizational Culture Change, Jennifer Lynn Wion

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Reducing Teachers' Levels Of Stress: A Comparison Of Two Counseling Treatment Models, Andrew Charles Elgort

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Teachers are experiencing heightened levels of stress throughout the school day the impact of which may be seen in increased absenteeism, turnover, poor performance and waste. This study taught classroom teachers cognitive-behavioral methods to reduce and manage their professional stress comparing a Group Counseling (GC) approach with a Cooperative Professional Development (CPD) approach.;Participating classroom teachers were randomly selected for each treatment condition. The participants in the GC approach met for ten 2-hour consecutive weekly sessions. The CPD treatment initially met as a group for a {dollar}6{lcub}1\over2{rcub}{dollar} hour inservice. at the end of the inservice, the participants formed dyads which met …

Working For Work: A Program Evaluation, Rich P. Janzen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Working for Work: Intercultural Job Support Groups is a new program in the Waterloo Region of Southern Ontario providing immigrants and refugees to Canada assistance in finding employment. Having started in October of 1991, Working for Work operates within a support group setting and encourages participation from group members. The program also advocates on behalf of immigrants and refugees. This is most notably demonstrated through the organization of work placements which offer group members direct contact with Canadian employers. There are two general goals of the program: (1) to increase the employability of group members, and (2) to increase group …

The Effect Of Social Support On Job Satisfaction At The Varying Levels Of Job Stress And Task Structure, Pei-Lin Zhou

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Alphanumeric, Direct Manipulation Graphic, And Equivalent Interface Design For A Production Scheduling Task, Ann C. Fulop

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Scheduling is an essential factor influencing the efficiency of any production system. The effectiveness of the scheduling system depends upon the interaction of the human and machine. Thus, to effectively design the interface between the human and the machine, the human factors professional must understand scheduling behavior and the information requirements of the scheduling task. The present study modeled human scheduling behavior and determined the information requirements of the scheduling task. The study also compared alphanumeric, direct manipulation graphic, and equivalent interfaces to determine which interface best supports scheduling. The results of the study show that schedulers monitor the current …

The Evaluation Of Company-Sponsored Test-Preparation Courses: Training Different Aged Employees On General Test-Taking Skills And Basic Cognitive Skills, Kerrie D. Quinn

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Test performance in general has been found to decline with increasing age. However, this decline has not been accompanied consistently by lower job performance. Subsequently, factors external to the test are being more closely examined for their effects on test performance. Two such factors, a lack of general test-taking skills and a reduced level of basic cognitive skills, are thought to contribute most to the test performance of older adults. These factors occur because of the lower level of education and greater length of time since formal schooling for older adults. Accordingly, organizations have been offering test-preparation training to all …

The Relationships Between Metacognitive Strategies And Learning Outcomes In An Adult Basic Skills Program, Bert Huggins

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This study tested metacognitive strategies accounted for variance in learning acquisition and retention in an adult basic skills population. The study employed the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) to measure metacognitive strategy use, a standardized, individually-accessed basic skills curriculum, and a valid basic skills performance measurement.

The study population was young adult soldiers stationed in South Carolina, California and Hawaii. Sites selection assured uniformity in testing procedures, curriculum and delivery. Multiple sites assured a variety of soldier career fields for purposes of generalization.

Performance measurements were taken at the beginning of instruction, at the end of instruction and a …

The Use Of Humor To Relieve Stress In Psychiatric Nurses, Joanne Kwandt

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of humor as a coping mechanism to relieve work stress of psychiatric registered nurses (RNs).;The population was selected from 31 volunteer RNs who worked thirty-two to forty hours a week in psychiatric hospitals in the Norfolk-Tidewater-Williamsburg-Richmond areas of Virginia. The RNs completed three pretest self-report measurements on stress. The Social Readiness Rating Scale (SRRS) was given to assess preexisting life stress. The Work Environment Scale (WES), and the Psychiatric Nurses' Occupational Stress Scales (PNOSS) were given to measure for pre-treatment work stress.;The RNs were then randomly assigned to one of …

Multidimensionality Of Power Use In Organizations And Its Correlates, Weizhong Dong

Dissertations and Theses

The present study was conducted to examine power use patterns and general power use strategies in organizations multidimensionally (i.e., downward, upward, and lateral directions of power use), to extend and explain previous findings by Kipnis et al. (1980), with reference to situational effects on multidimensional power use. The samples in this study consist of 230 full-time managers who were from eight local businesses, and a second sample of 140 college students who worked over 15 hours a week at the time of the study. Two exploratory factor analyses resulted in five commonly used power patterns and two general power use …

The Impact Of Hierarchical Relationship Quality On The Content And Timing Of Evaluative Feedback: An Affectively-Driven Process Model, Peter Lawrence Egan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

A review of the literature revealed that interpersonal affect has been relatively neglected as a potential moderator of the performance feedback process. In an attempt to ameliorate this oversight, a model was proposed which views supervisors’ feedback behavior as being the product of a set of social cognitive operations, all of which may be regarded as having their basis in affective responses. A laboratory study was undertaken to assess the validity of the proposed linkages in the model. While all of the connections did not receive empirical support, affect. was found to influence certain aspects of supervisors’ feedback and evaluative …

An Evaluation Of Personality-Environmental Factors Related To Job Satisfaction Of Secondary School Natural Science Teachers, George Newton Deshazo

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among certain personality traits, vocational interests, and demographic factors with job satisfaction among secondary school natural science teachers. Implications for future research and educational practice were explored.;Volunteers teaching secondary school natural science classes in seven Virginia public school districts primarily in the Hampton Rhodes area were subjects for this study. Subjects completed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the Vocational Preference Inventory, The Job Descriptive Index, and a biographical informational questionnaire.;It was hypothesized that (1) there would be a positive correlation between the predominant basic preference, INTJ, and job satisfaction, (2) there …