Strategic Management Policy Commons^™

Behavioral Management And Task Performance In Organizations: Conceptual Background, Meta-Analysis, And Test Of Alternative Models, Alexander D. Stajkovic, Fred Luthans

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

In this study, we provide the conceptual background, meta-analyze available behavioral management studies (N = 72) in organizational settings, and examine whether combined reinforcement effects on task performance are additive (sum of individual effects), redundant (combined effects are less than the additive effects), or synergistic (combined effects are greater than the sum of the individual effects). We found a significant overall average effect size of (d.) = .47 (16% improvement in performance; 63% probability of success), and a significant within-group heterogeneity of effect sizes. To account for this variation, we conducted a theory-driven moderator analysis, which indicated that money, feedback, …

What Knowledge Managers Really Do: An Empirical And Comparative Analysis, Arben Asllani, Fred Luthans

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

The advent of information technology has generated not only interest in how to acquire, store and ‘‘mine’’ data, but also how to manage knowledge. Yet, there is still considerable confusion and a lack of understanding of what today’s knowledge managers really do. Continuing a stream of previous research on the behavior activities of traditional managers, this study investigated the relative amount of time today’s knowledge managers (N = 307) spend on traditional management functions, communications, human resources and networking. Besides identifying what knowledge managers really do, this study examined what successful knowledge managers do. Comparisons are then made with …

360-Degree Feedback With Systematic Coaching: Empirical Analysis Suggests A Winning Combination, Fred Luthans, Suzanne J. Peterson

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Wanted: High-performance work practices to gain a competitive advantage. An increasingly common answer to this desperate call is 360-degree programs; unfortunately, they have, at best, mixed reviews when empirically assessed. This study found that a way to improve the effectiveness of 360s may be to combine them with coaching focused on enhanced self-awareness and behavioral management. In a small manufacturer, this feedback-coaching resulted in improved manager and employee satisfaction, commitment, intentions to turnover, and at least indirectly, this firm’s performance. This feedback-coaching may be a winning combination to help in the competitive battles in today’s global economy.

Task 3: Quality Assurance Program, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

The University and Community College System of Nevada (UCCSN) is qualified as a supplier of scientific and engineering studies as well as software development. Quality Assurance Procedures (QAPs) comprise the upper tier of the UCCSN QA Program, written in accordance with QAP-2.0, “Quality Assurance Program – Preparation, Approval, and Revision of Procedures”, to meet the requirements of DOE/RW-0333P, OCRWM Quality Assurance Requirements and Description (QARD). The UCCSN Quality Assurance Requirements Matrix is provided to DOE specifying where in the QAPs OCRWM QA requirements are met, as well as exceptions to the QARD, due to scope of work.

Attribute-Based Differentiation Of Alternatives, Jeffrey Keisler

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

An intermediate step is introduced to the decision dialogue process for decision analysis. Alternatives are refined after they have been generated within a strategy table but before they are subject to more detailed evaluation. Two or more judges create a subjective mapping from alternatives to attributes that will later be mapped to criteria. In strategy tables, each of the alternative strategies consists of a coherent set of choices made across several decisions that are to be coordinated. These strategic alternatives are modified so as to increase their differentiation in the attribute space, rather than in the decision space alone. When …

Sampling Concepts, Paul Boyd, Ph.D.

MBA Faculty Conference Papers & Journal Articles

The usefulness of any research is dependent upon how well the group studied represents the group about which decisions are to be made or conclusions drawn. That is, it depends upon how well the sample reflects relevant characteristics of the population. When it is possible to study every member of that group there is no problem, for on these occasions we can easily calculate the exact attribute (parameter) of interest for our population.

For example, if we were interested in determining the average number of gallons of gasoline sold to customers at our service station yesterday, we …

The Need For And Meaning Of Positive Organizational Behavior, Fred Luthans

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

This essay draws from the emerging positive psychology movement and the author’s recent articles on the need for and meaning of a positive approach to organizational behavior. Specifically, the argument is made that at this time, the OB field needs a proactive, positive approach emphasizing strengths, rather than continuing in the downward spiral of negativity trying to fix weaknesses. However, to avoid the surface positivity represented by the non-sustainable best-sellers, the case is made for positive organizational behavior (POB) to take advantage of the OB field’s strength of being theory and research driven. Additional criteria for this version of POB …

Impact Of Transformational Leadership On Follower Development And Performance: A Field Experiment, Taly Dvir, Dov Eden, Bruce Avolio, Boas Shamir

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

In a longitudinal, randomized field experiment, we tested the impact of transformational leadership, enhanced hy training, on follower development and performance. Experimental group leaders received transformational leadership training, and control group leaders, eclectic leadership training. The sample included 54 military leaders, their 90 direct followers, and 724 indirect followers. Results indicated the leaders in the experimental group had a more positive impact on direct followers' development and on indirect followers' performance than did the leaders in the control group.

Why Can't We Wait (To Spend) And The Law Of Unintended Consequences: Potential Negative Impact On Minority Employees From Well-Intentioned Organizational Compensation Practices, James R. Jones

Marketing and Management Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

In this time of increasing uncertainty about business viability and stability, many organizations are looking to gain control of their "bottom line" by strengthening the link between organizational outcomes and employee rewards. Long gone are the days of steadily and automatically increasing worker salaries as a hoped-for method of expanding productivity. Indeed, there is a school of thought that suggests that automatic pay increases act as a "demotivator" for many individuals. The more common approach currently is to utilize incentives (i.e., additional compensation/rewards given for performance beyond normal expectations) as a way of enhancing employee work motivation, thereby leading to …

Differential Effects Of Incentive Motivators On Work Performance, Alexander D. Stajkovic, Fred Luthans

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

In this field experiment, we first compared the performance effects of money systematically administered through the organizational behavior modification (O.B. Mod.) model and routine pay for performance and then compared the effects of O.B. Mod.- administered money, social recognition, and performance feedback. The money intervention based on the O.B. Mod. outperformed routine pay for performance (performance increase = 37% vs. 11%) and also had stronger effects on performance than social recognition (24%) and performance feedback (20%).

Environmental And Psychological Challenges Facing Entrepreneurial Development In Transitional Economies, Fred Luthans, Alexander D. Stajkovic, Elina Stajkovic

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

In the former planned economies, a major result of the economic reform programs has been the resurgence of private entrepreneurship. As these countries have struggled to make the transition to a market-based economy over the past decade, the environment has played an important structural role in entrepreneurial development. However, from a psychological perspective, the environmental structural context affects human action through cognitive processes such as self-regulation. Thus, we first identify and analyze the effect of the political, economic, legal, and cultural environment on the development of entrepreneurship in transitional economies, mainly using the former Soviet Union and particularly the Republic …

Environmental Ethical Decision Making In The U.S. Metal-Finishing Industry, Brenda L. Flannery, Douglas R. May

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

We investigated the individual and contextual influences shaping the environmental ethical decision intentions of a sample of managers in the U.S. metal-finishing industry in this study. Ajzen's (1991) theory of planned behavior and Jones's (1991) moral intensity construct grounded our theoretical framework. Findings revealed that the magnitude of consequences, a dimension of moral intensity, moderated the relation- ships between each of five antecedents-attitudes, subjective norms, and three perceived behavioral control factors (self-efficacy, financial cost, and ethical climate)- and managers' environmental ethical decision intentions. We then developed implications for theory and practice in environmental ethical decision making.

The Impact Of Culture On Feedback-Seeking Behavior: An Integrated Model And Propositions, Mary Frances Sully De Luque, Steven M. Sommer

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

In recent research scholars have addressed the issue of an individual's behavior in feedback-seeking activity and, except in scant studies, have virtually ignored the role of culture in this area. In this article we explore four cultural syndromes, based on past research, to form a cross-cultural model of feedback-seeking behavior. We advance propositions for the study of culture as a moderator to feedback-seeking behavior.

Productivity And Quality Relationship In Manufacturing, Weng Hon Low

Student Works (2000-2009)

Over the past decade, quality and productivity has played a pivotal role in hastening industrialization prosperity in Malaysia. Improving quality is one important way to maintain a competitive position in today's markets. Productivity is in the news these days as an effective means of counteracting the downward effects of various other important economic forces. There is a clear positive relationship between quality and productivity. Generally, when quality increases, waste is eliminated, so will productivity increase as well. However, some researchers view quality and productivity move in opposite directions. There is a trade-off between quality and productivity. It is thus the …

Registration Of Apprenticeship Programs And The Turnover Of Skilled Trade Employees, Dennis J. Bona

Dissertations

The primary purpose of the study is to provide empirical evidence that refutes arguments made by employers who resist registering an apprenticeship program because they believe it will increase turnover of their skilled trade employees. To do this, data were collected to test the hypothesis that companies that have a registered apprenticeship program experience less turnover of their skilled trade employees compared to companies that do not. Secondary hypotheses were also developed to compare turnover ratios with union orientation, size, and wage structure of employers to help validate the results and demonstrate alternative explanations for turnover of skilled trade employees. …

Divergent Effects Of Job Control On Coping With Work Stressors: The Key Role Of Self-Efficacy, John Schaubroeck, Deryl E. Merritt

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

This study identifies job self-efficacy as a moderating variable that may determine whether job control contributes positively or negative to coping with work stressors. Data from two samples (health professionals and an occupationally diverse group) demonstrated similar interactions between demands, control, and self-efficacy predicting blood pressure. These results may reconcile the previous inconsistent and largely method-bound support for Karasek's job demands-control model and suggest that efforts to improve job self-efficacy may be as important to reducing the cardiovascular consequences of job stress as efforts to enhance control.

A Meta-Analysis Of The Effects Of Organizational Behavior Modification On Task Performance, 1975-95, Alexander D. Stajkovic, Fred Luthans

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Results of a primary meta-analysis indicated a significant main effect of the organizational behavior modification (O.B. Mod.) approach on task performance (d. = .51; a 17 percent increase) and a significant treatment-by-study interaction. To account for within-group heterogeneity of effect sizes, we conducted a two-level theory-driven moderator analysis by partitioning the sample of studies first into manufacturing and service groups and then into seven classes of reinforcement interventions. Results indicated a stronger average effect of O.B. Mod. in manufacturing organizations, moderation by the type of contingent interventions, and "pairwise" differences among average effect sizes in both organizational types. The practical …

An Immigrant's Gift: The Life Of Quality Pioneer, Joseph M. Juran - Transcript, Dr. Joseph M. Juran Collection

'An Immigrant's Gift': Interviews about the Life and Impact of Dr. Joseph M. Juran

In the latter decades of the 20th Century, there occurred a silent revolution that swept across nations and effected all the peoples of the earth. This quality revolution began in the mind of a humble immigrant to the United States, Joseph M. Juran. His contributions to industry are heralded around the world, and yet his life story has remained unknown until now. An Immigrant's Gift is a compelling and inspirational portrait of a brilliant mind and a great humanist, who, in an unassuming way, had a profound impact on the international business community and our everyday lives.

Job Complexity, "Type A" Behavior, And Cardiovascular Disorder: A Prospective Study, John Schaubroeck, Daniel C. Ganster, Barbara Ellen Kemmerer

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Interview-based measures of "type A" behavior and psychological and task-person indexes of job complexity were obtained from 251 police and fire department employees with sound cardiovascular health. Fol- low-up data on cardiovascular disorder were collected seven years later from participants who had remained with their organizations. The type A behavior pattern predicted cardiovascular disorder over time, and the relationships between the two complexity indexes and cardio- vascular morbidity were positive among individuals with high type A behavior ratings but negative among those with low ratings. We discuss the implications of these findings for worker health and job design.

Toward A Sustainable Maine : The Politics, Economics, And Ethics Of Sustainability, Richard Barringer (Ed.)

Maine Collection

Toward A Sustainable Maine : The Politics, Economics, and Ethics of Sustainability

Richard Barringer, editor, Professor Emeritus at the University of Southern Maine

Edmund S. Muskie Institute of Public Affairs, University of Southern Maine, Portland, Maine, 1993.

The proceedings of a conference presented at Bowdoin College on March 19 and 20, 1993, by the Edmund S. Muskie Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Southern Maine, and by the Natural Resources Council of Maine. Ellen Baum, conference organizer.

Contents; Foreword by Richard Barringer / Welcome by Everett Carson / Global, Canadian, and Maine Perspectives / Sustaining Our Natural and …

Managing Russian Factory Workers: The Impact Of U.S.-Based Behavioral And Participative Techniques, Dianne H.B. Welsh, Fred Luthans, Steven M. Sommer

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

The new internationalization of the field of management has produced growing concern as to whether theories and techniques largely developed in the United States apply to other cultures. A within-subjects experimental design was used to analyze the impacts that three popular and successful techniques used in U.S. studies had on the performance of workers in the largest textile factory in the Russian republic of the former Soviet Union. Two techniques, providing extrinsic rewards and behavioral management, had significant,

Interview With Jim Stoner, Dr. Joseph M. Juran Collection

'An Immigrant's Gift': Interviews about the Life and Impact of Dr. Joseph M. Juran

No abstract provided.

Interview With Jack Germain, Dr. Joseph M. Juran Collection

'An Immigrant's Gift': Interviews about the Life and Impact of Dr. Joseph M. Juran

No abstract provided.

Interview With Bob Galvin, Dr. Joseph M. Juran Collection

'An Immigrant's Gift': Interviews about the Life and Impact of Dr. Joseph M. Juran

No abstract provided.

Interview With Brian Scott, Dr. Joseph M. Juran Collection

'An Immigrant's Gift': Interviews about the Life and Impact of Dr. Joseph M. Juran

No abstract provided.

Interview With David Luther, Dr. Joseph M. Juran Collection

'An Immigrant's Gift': Interviews about the Life and Impact of Dr. Joseph M. Juran

No abstract provided.

Interview With Matthis Vermass, Dr. Joseph M. Juran Collection

'An Immigrant's Gift': Interviews about the Life and Impact of Dr. Joseph M. Juran

No abstract provided.

Interview With David Hutchins, Dr. Joseph M. Juran Collection

'An Immigrant's Gift': Interviews about the Life and Impact of Dr. Joseph M. Juran

No abstract provided.

Interview With Arturo Onnias, Dr. Joseph M. Juran Collection

'An Immigrant's Gift': Interviews about the Life and Impact of Dr. Joseph M. Juran

No abstract provided.

Interview With Genichi Taguchi, Dr. Joseph M. Juran Collection

'An Immigrant's Gift': Interviews about the Life and Impact of Dr. Joseph M. Juran

No abstract provided.