Business Commons^™

Board Composition And The Commission Of Illegal Acts: An Investigation Of Fortune 500 Companies, Idalene F. Kesner, Bart Victor, Bruce T. Lamont

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Corporate boardroom processes and board composition have long been topics of interest and debate for both organizational researchers and practitioners. In recent years, however, criticism of corporate boards has increased dramatically, as evidences by the comments of former International Telephone & Telegraph chairman, Harold Geneen. According to Geneen, "the boards of directors of U.S. industry include numerous first-rate people doing what amounts to a second-rate job" (1984: 258). In defense of his position, he brought up many points, but board composition is the most central to his argument. Essentially, Geneen and other critics have argued that the designs of corporate …

Research Notes Organizational Commitment: A Comparison Of American, Japanese, And Korean Employees, Fred Luthans, Harriette S. Mccaul, Nancy G. Dodd

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Considerable attention is currently being given to exploring differences between Japanese and American workers that might explain the widening gap between the productivity growth rates of the two countries. Some researchers have suggested that this difference in productivity growth is, at least in part, due to Japanese workers' having a higher level of commitment to their orgnaizations than American works (Cole, 1979; Hatvany & Pucik, 1981; Marsh & Mannari, 1977; Whitehall & Takezawa, 1968). Turnover rates are commonly cited to support the popular notion that Japanese employees, whose turnover rate is about half that of their American counterparts, are more …

Refining The Displacement Of Culture And The Use Of Scenes And Themes In Organizational Studies, Nancy C. Morey, Fred Luthans

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

The move to displace the concept of culture traditionally used in anthropology to organizational research is discussed. Issues surrounding the culture concept and the juxtaposition of culture and organization are given special attention. Current thinking about the nature of the process of displacement is refined. Examples from an ongoing study of a city transit organization are used to demonstrate the use of cultural scenes and themes in organizational research.

Administration Size And Organization Size: An Examination Of The Lag Structure, John B. Cullen, Douglas D. Baker

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Recent longitudinal studies of the relationship between organization and administrative staff size (Freeman & Hannan, 1975) often to replicate the findings of earlier cross-sectional research (Blau herr, 1971). As a result, many researchers (Kimberly, 1976b) have argued that further longitudinal research is necessary.

An Emic Perspective And Ethnoscience Methods For Organizational Research, Nancy C. Morey, Fred Luthans

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

This paper is in answer to the call for new, innovative perspectives and methodologies for organizational research. Although the approach here falls within the subjective/idiographic/qualitative/insider set of methodologies rather than the objective/nomothetic/quantitative/outsider set, there is the potential to bridge the gap between the two sets. Coming largely from anthropology, the emic perspective is explained; the specific steps for ethnoscience analyses are summarized; and examples and implications are given.

Social Desirability Response Effects: Three Alternative Models, Daniel C. Ganster, Harry W. Hennessey, Fred Luthans

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Three models are developed for the effects of social desirability (SD) on organizational behavior research results. SD can act as (a) an unmeasured variable that produces spurious correlations between study variables, (b) a suppressor variable that hides relationships, or (c) a moderator variable that conditions the relationship between two other variable.

A Survey Of Employee Perceptions Of Information Privacy In Organizations, Richard W. Woodman, Daniel C. Ganster, Jerome Adams, Michael K. Mccuddy, Paul D. Tolchinsky, Howard Fromkin

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

In this study of employees in five multinational corporations, assessment was made of (a) employees' beliefs regarding the types of personal information stored their companies, (b) the accuracy of those perceptions, (c) reactions to various internal and external uses of this personal information, and (d) evaluations of the companies' information handling policies and practices.

An Idiographic Approach To Organizational Behavior Research: The Use Of Single Case Experimental Designs And Direct Measures, Fred Luthans, Tim R.V. Davis

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

The underlying assumptions of the dominant nomothetic (group-centered, standardized, and controlled environmental contexts, and quantitative methodologies) and idiographic (individual-centered, naturalistic environmental contexts, and qualitative methodologies) research perspectives are examined. An interactive theoretic (i.e., real people interacting in real organizations) for organizational behavior is suggested-a theoretic assumption that lends itself to an idiographic approach. Intensive single- case experimental designs and direct observational measures are proposed as a potentially powerful methodology for idiographic research of organizational behavior.

A Management Science Approach To Contingency Models Of Organizational Structure, Sang M. Lee, Fred Luthans, David L. Olson

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

This study demonstrates the applicability of a quantitative modeling approach, specifically goal programming, in operationalizing the relationship between environmental variables and specific organizational structural variables for optimal goal attainment. A goal programming model is developed to analyze and determine the optimal relationships for goal attainment.

The contingency approach has emerged in recent years as the dominant theoretical framework for viewing organizational structure and design. Although open systems analysis (Katz & Kahn, 1966) emphasized the input of the external environment into organization structuring, the contingency approach attempts to establish functional relationships between environmental variables and organizational variables. Over the past decade …

The Transfer Of Japanese Manufacturing Management Approaches To U. S. Industry, Richard J. Schonberger

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Just-in-time (JIT) provisioning of manufacturing inventories is a notable feature of Japanese manufacturing management. Kawasaki Motors, USA, has committed itself to JIT objectives, which result in moving toward lotless repetitive manufacturing, a streamlined mode of operation characterized by minimal inventories and "shop paper," plus flexible market response. Kawasaki USA has forged a hybrid process of effecting change, featuring Japanese JIT objectives but without Japanese-style consensus mechanisms for making decisions and effecting changes

Goal Setting And Performance Evaluation: An Attributional Analysis, Dennis L. Dossett, Carl I. Greenberg

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

The present study considered the effect of goal setting on supervisors' evaluations of employees' performance and the causes attributed to that performance. Results indicated that attributional distortions were greater in the assigned than in the participative or self-set goal conditions. Supervisors rated the high participatively-set goal worker significantly higher in performance, ability, effort, and goal commitment than they rated the low participatively-set goal worker.

A Social Learning Approach To Organizational Behavior, Tim R.V. Davis, Fred Luthans

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

After first reviewing the existing theoretical frameworks for human behavior, we present a social learning theory approach that incorporates the interactive nature of all the variables of organizational behavior - the behavior itself, the environment, and the person (internal cognitions). We differentiate social learning theory from operant theory, highlighting the processes of modeling, cognitions, and self-control. We suggest self- management techniques as a way to apply the social learning framework in order to enhance managerial effectiveness.

The Impact Of The Computer On The Choice Activity Of Decision Makers: A Replication With Actual Used Of Computerized Mis, Robert Koester, Fred Luthans

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

University of Nebraska-Lincoln A previous study on the impact of computer generated information on the choice activity of student subjects found that those with computer experience were less influenced by computer generated information than they were by information presented in a more traditional mimeograph format. Subjects who had little, if any, computer experience were more influenced in their choice activity by computer generated information than by the identical information presented in the more traditional mimeograph format (Luthans & Koester, 1976). The results of that study seemed to have definite implications for users of computerized information systems, suggesting that computer generated …

The Reality Or Illusion Of A General Contingency Theory Of Management: A Response To The Longenecker And Pringle Critique, Fred Luthans, Todd I. Stewart

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

In April 1977, we introduced the concept of a General Contingency Theory (GCT) of Management and proposed for its development a conceptual framework to integrate and synthesize diverse process, behavioral, and management science concepts and techniques (3). In their critique of GCT, Longenecker and Pringle (2) have argued that the concept of a contingency-based general theory of management is illusory, too ill-defined and nebulous to serve as a truly viable general theory. Our response is offered to clarify some of the points they raise and stimulate a continuing dialogue over the GCT construct which will hopefully contribute to the development …

Incorporating Time-Lag Effects Into The Expectancy Model Of Motivation: A Reformulation Of The Model, Bronston T. Mayes

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Of cognitive theories of motivation, the most intensively researched in recent years is the Valence-Instrumentality-Expectancy (VIE) theory. A recent review of VIE research (9) shows the valence model to be reasonably predictive of occupational preference, job satisfaction, and valence of performance. The behavioral choice model has not fared so well; although it moderately predicts self-ratings of job effort, its efficiency in predicting criteria measured by other then self-ratings is questionable. When the behavioral choice model is used in research, the following findings are typical:

1. Intrinsic outcomes (feelings of accomplishment, etc.) are better predictors of satisfaction and performance than are …

Some Boundary Considerations In The Application Of Motivation Models, Bronston T. Mayes

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

From the actor's perspective, a behavioral environment can be typified by two continuous dimensions, knowledge of potential outcomes and knowledge of causal relationships among environmental elements. These dimensions determine the situational ambiguity perceived by the actor. Expectancy, equity, operant conditioning, and attitude theories of motivation are considered in such ambiguous environments. Propositions are set forth which allow the researcher to select the most predictive motivation model

Toward A Definition Of Organizational Politics, Bronston T. Mayes, Robert W. Allen

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Viewing organizations as political entities is not a recent phenomenon. March (7) suggested that organizations are political coalitions in which decisions are made and goals are set by bargaining processes. Other writers stressed the utility of taking a political perspective when studying organizations (1, 6, 9, 22). Anyone associated with almost any form of organization eventually becomes aware of activities that are described by employees as "political", but what is termed political by one observer may not be viewed as political by another. To understand the nature of political processes in organizations, some agreement as to what constitutes political behavior …

A General Contingency Theory Of Management, Fred Luthans, Todd I. Stewart

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Recent formal recognition of situational influences on the management of complex organizations has led to an increasing number of contingency models, but a comprehensive and integrative theoretical framework for contingency management has been lacking. A General Contingency Theory (GCT) of Management is introduced as an overall framework that integrates the diverse process, quantitative and behavioral approaches to management; incorporates the environment; and begins to bridge the gap between management theory and practice

The Impact Of Computer Generated Information On The Choice Activity Of Decision-Makers, Fred Luthans, Robert Koester

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Computerized information systems have a tremendous impact on management decision-making in all modern organizations. Electronic data processing (EDP) departments generate, coordinate, and disseminate much of the information that is used in modern management decision-making. How much influence is this computer generated information per se having on the choice activity of the human decision-maker? To date, very little is known about the answer to this question. Yet, if management is to improve the effectiveness of the decision-making process, the implications of computer generated information must be better understood. Organizationally, there is evidence that the computer has changed traditionalline- staff relationships. In …

The Resources Management Movement (The Coming Death Of Production Management Education), Richard J. Schonberger

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Production management, taught in nearly all colleges of business administration, is not a popular course. One reason it is not popular is that it does not relate to the typical young student's life experiences. This typical student has for 18 years or more been a social animal, and thus he can relate to college courses in the sociopsychological realm. The rare student who has considerable work experience is the only one likely to appreciate and perhaps even enjoy a course in production management (or operations management, as it is called in some schools).

But this kind of problem is found …

Testing A Planning And Control Model In Nonprofit Organizations, Charles A. Reimnitz

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

This study utilizes a planning and control model abstracted from the conceptual framework of general management knowledge to test the relative efficiency of administrators in three educational service organizations. The hypothesis that subordinates' perceptions of administrators' relative proficiency will be a function of the administrators' education, training, experience, and conscious use of management techniques appears to be substantiated.

Evidence On The Validity Of Management Education, Fred Luthans, James W. Walker, Richard M. Hodgetts

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

The authors feel that more attention should be given to the empirical validation of management education. In order to determine what effect a college degree and the academic major have on promotability, 3,202 marketing personnel of a major petroleum corporation were analyzed.

What effect does a college education have on executive success? Does the major area of study make any difference? Does any kind of management education or development yield tangible returns to an employing organization? In other words, have management formal education and development been empirically validated? Many organizations are seriously beginning to ask these questions. The current body …

Managerial Analysis Of Doctoral Candidates And Professors: Research Attitudes And Interpersonal Relations, Fred Luthans, Richard M. Hodgetts

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

The authors feel that managerial analysis can contribute to the better understanding of many problems facing the modern university. This study, in analyzing the staffing problems of colleges of business administration, utilizes the research attitudes and interpersonal relations between doctoral candidates and their professors. The body of management knowledge is usually associated with business organizations. However, many other types of organizations in modern society have utilized management knowledge to solve their problems. Government organizations, hospitals, and the military draw from and add to the general body of management knowledge.

Leadership Techniques In The Project Organization, Richard M. Hodgetts

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Project managers, because of their inherent "authority-gap", have developed a handful of techniques for supplementing their authority. The importance of these techniques will often vary with the dollar-size of the undertaking. The project organization has been in use for thousands of years. Its precise origin is unknown, but the pyramids and Roman aqueducts bear witness to its long history. In recent years a new impetus has been given to the project organization through its application in such areas as aerospace, chemicals, and state government, to mention but a few. One major problem has been cited consistently in studies made of …

Faculty Promotions: An Analysis Of Central Administrative Control, Fred Luthans

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Very little significant research has been conducted on the university as an organized activity. This study helps to fill solve of this void. The concept of central administrative control is used as a framework to empirically analyze faculty promotion policies and practices. The universities of today are recognized as extremely important organizations in our society. Faculty members conduct significant research which advances knowledge in their particular fields of study. For instance, in the management departments of our universities, professors devote most of their research efforts to developing knowledge and insights into industrial organizations. In a few cases these professors have …