Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons^™

The Design And Evaluation Of An Information System For Assessing Performance Appraisal Practices, James Michael Naughton

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales As Antecedent And Consequent Stimuli Upon Instructional Behaviors In A Special Education Setting, Dennis L. Van Hartesvelt

Masters Theses

The present study was an attempt to determine the effects of the Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS) upong three distinct instructional behaviors when presented before instructional sessions and when presented after instructional sessions. A multiple baseline design across behaviors was used with four subjects with a reversal element used with one of those subjects. A slight positive effect of BARS presentation upon instructional behaviors occurred. No significant differences were observed between preinstructional and postinstructional BARS presentation. The relevance of the present study is explored in relation to previous BARS studies, along with the implications of the present study.

The Differential Effects Of Three Job-Related Manipulations On The Task Performance Of Movie Theatre Employees, Raymond Douglas Bennett

Masters Theses

This study examined task checklist use (self-recording with accuracy monitoring and performance standards with performance monitoring) in a program designed to increase task performance of movie theatre employees. A multiple baseline design across tasks was employed. Accuracy of self-recording averaged 68% when the checklists were first introduced alone and increased to an average of 93% when feedback for task performance and recording accuracy was implemented. Employee task performance averaged 48% for Baseline and 92% for the final condition. The introduction of task checklists alone was followed by a mean performance increase of 18%. The introduction of self-recording and supervisory comments …

The Effects Of Pre And Post-Performance Review Goal Setting On Subsequent Job Performance In A Human Services Setting, Christie L. Kleinhuizen

Masters Theses

Researchers investigating the effects, of performance appraisals and. goal setting techniques have focused on laboratory (rather than field) settings and/or have relied on self-report or anecdotal data to draw their conclusions. The major objectives of the present study were to examine the effects of 1) goal setting on actual job performance in a community organizational setting and 2) performance appraisals on both subsequent job performance and goals set. Two male and two female counselors in a residential treatment center served as subjects in the study which utilized a multiple baseline design. The performance of l8 repetitive administrative/custodial tasks were measured …

The Use Of Bonus Pay To Produce Cost Effective Behavior Change In The Direct Care Staff Of A Residential Mental Health Program, William F. Uhlman

Dissertations

The literature on the design of mental health service systems and techniques to generate performance in the workplace was reviewed and synthesised to create guidelines for developing cost effective behavior change in mental health systems. The present study was an examination of the cost effective application of monetary bonuses to the completion of training objectives by professional and paraprofessional staff in a residential service setting. Training objectives consisted of the teaching of specific survival skills to adult mentally retarded clients that were designed to enable clients to move to more independent settings.

Two experiments were performed. Experiment 1 examined the …

Relationships In Organizations Between Leaders' Personality Characteristics And Their Hierarchical Levels And Role Foci, Loretta Church

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether leaders' personality characteristics were related to the hierarchical level and the focus of their roles in organizations. Leaders from two industrial plants of two Fortune 500 corporations were selected for the investigation. They comprised a total population of persons responsible for making decisions concerning the use of data, people, or things within the organizations.

Data were collected employing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Functional Job Analysis Self-Report (FJASR). The MBTI instrument identified personality characteristics in terms of two paired and opposite preferences for (1) sensing or intuition, and (2) …

Prompts And Feedback As A Means Of Increasing A Customer Service Behavior In A Family Restaurant, David B. Lennox

Masters Theses

Although waiters and waitresses traditionally receive a gratuity based upon quality of service from customers, it may be difficult for them to interpret the amount of the gratuity as an indicator of good service or bad service. This ambiguity could be a result of different amounts of customer checks or faulty comparisons of total dollar amounts (total for the working shift) without taking into consideration the total dollar amount of the customer checks or the number of customers served. This study was conducted to provide accurate information for waitresses regarding gratuity percentage received from customers while monitoring its effects on …

The Effects Of Music On The Duration Of Time Spent In A Store By A Customer, Danita J. Mussatto

Masters Theses

The present study was compared the effects of employing music and withholding music in a retail setting. Over a three week experimental period, the duration of time customers spent in a store was recorded. The music system was first employed (Phase I), next the customers were subject to an environment void of music (Phase II), and then the music system was reimplemented (Phase III). During Phase II customers spent significantly less time in the store than in Phase I or Phase III. Another store, employing music continually, was used to control extraneous sources of variability. The results provide empirical verification …

Effects Of Informational Data Upon Attendance In An Industrial Setting, Karen T. Suarez

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of informational data on employee attendance in an industrial setting. It was believed that knowledge of attendance rates would encourage employees to improve their attendance. An average of 50 male employees ranging from 22 to 55 years of age were included in the study. The procedure involved the implementation of publicly posted graphs which displayed attendance rates for the total department and each shift according to an ABA reversal design. Attendance rates were calculated and graphs updated each week by the department's superintendent. In addition, a brief questionnaire was distributed …

Effect Of Informational Posting And Employee Inspection On Safety Hazard Reduction In A Retail Drug Store, Craig A. Berger

Masters Theses

Undesired safety conditions were operationally defined for a large retail drug store. The recording of unsafe conditions were conducted for two different employee shifts for ten weeks. A multiple baseline design (ABC-ACB) was used in which three conditions were introduced: (a) baseline, (b) public posting of a safety performance chart, and (c) individual employee inspections. Results indicated that the frequency of safety hazards declined 23% from baseline for the public post-condition and declined 44% for the employee inspection condition (averaged across both shifts). An advanced analysis of variance indicated significant mean differences (p < .01) between baseline and employee inspection for both shifts. An additional measure was taken correlating photograph ratings by employees on a safety dimension and an attractiveness dimension. The coefficient of correlation was statistically significant (r = .76; p <.05). The results indicate that a training program involving employee inspections may be an effective way of reducing undesirable safety conditions.

An Analysis Of The Behavioral Consequences Of An Attendance Bonus Program, David William Smith

Masters Theses

Absenteeism is one of the most expensive and complex problems faced by management. Previous efforts to ameliorate attendance problems have focused on demographical analysis of absent workers, providing information of little value in designing remedial programs. The current project is an analysis of an Attendance Bonus Program in terms of contingencies of reinforcement. Six hundred union employees of a manufacturing plant served as subjects, with two comparison plants of 100 and 600 employees as comparative populations. Analysis of the prevailing contingencies identified a number of deficiencies. Attendance reinforcement aspects were appropriate, but a response criterion needs to be established. The …

The Effects Of Performance Appraisal On Staff Performance, Steven S. Armstrong

Masters Theses

Performance appraisals are increasing in numbers, but their effectiveness has little empirical validation. A major objective of the present study was to examine the effects of performance appraisals on the actual performance of supervisees. In addition, it assessed the effect of qualitative, rather than quantitative statements by supervisors. Five staff members participated in this study while working as teaching assistants. Ten dependent variables were observed and recorded per individual, after which the experimenter reviewed the baseline data and targeted six dependent variables for change, based on their low frequencies. The independent variable consisted of a performance appraisal which was a …

The Effects Of Written Instructions And Videotape Modeling On The Quality Of Performance Feedback Provided For Subordinates, Ileana Habsburg-Snyder

Masters Theses

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of instructions and modeling in training supervisors to provide performance feedback to their subordinates. Four part-time supervisors served as subjects. An across subjects multiple-baseline design was used which employed a baseline phase, an instructions phase and a modeling phase. Data were collected on the percentage of component behaviors performed during roleplay test sessions and actual performance reviews. Modeling and instructions were found to be equally effective in training, however, a sequential presentation of both methods increased performance substantially. The effects of transfer of training were also examined. The results suggest that …

The Effect Of Active-Participation With Feedback In A Videotape, Discrimination-Training Program, Stephen M. Brewer

Masters Theses

With the use of a multiple-baseline design, the present experiment examined the effect of three training conditions on the acquisition of tutoring techniques in four volunteer college students. The three training conditions were: (1) Guidelines, subjects read and were tested over a manuscript; (2) Passive-Participation Without Feedback, subjects viewed 15 vignettes of a model's correct and incorrect use of tutoring techniques without receiving feedback on the model's behavior; and (3) Active-Participation With Feedback, subjects actively scored and received feedback on the same videotaped model's use of tutoring techniques. Subjects participated in one of the training conditions once at the beginning …

A Comparison Of Behavioral Incentive Systems In A Job Search Program, Louise Smith Rogers

Masters Theses

This research involved a comparison of two approaches for implementing a point system in a job search program, using a between-groups design. The experimental group (a) received precise instructions concerning back-up contingencies, (b) attended weekly feedback sessions, and (c) graphed daily points earned. The control group did none of the above; however, they received the same initial instructions concerning performance standards and point values for behaviors. The control group's instructions included only a vague statement concerning back up contingencies, not directly relating contingencies to point values. The experimental group earned 34% more points. Due to variability in each subject's program …

Job Satisfaction Of Working Black Women And The Relationship Of Social Awareness To Job Satisfaction, Lillian Denise Nunley

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Supervisory Feedback Skills On Performance And Job Satisfaction, Kenneth Wayne Barnes

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Improving Staff Performance Through Checklists, Duane Lee Bacon

Masters Theses

Analysis of a checklist system suggested that it may be a useful method of improving staff performance and that three features were important: task definitions, recording responses on checklists, and periodic supervisor review. A checklist system incorporating these features was developed for an administrative staff in a large instructional system. A multiple baseline design and one reversal were used with three small groups of front-line staff, whose task completion was determined by permanent products left by the tasks. The percent of tasks completed improved by 28.8% when the checklist system was in effect. This study indicates that checklists may be …

Completing Long-Term Undergraduate Projects: Some Critical Variables, Timothy K. Zoia

Masters Theses

Completion of long-term academic projects involves large amounts of behavior over long periods of time. Steady rates of task completion may be difficult. This study is concerned with the completion of long-term projects by undergraduates who have received a prestigious university scholarship. Project completion and hours worked were correlated with the amount of supervision that the students received. The correlation between frequent supervisory meetings and completing project on time was significant (r=.70; df=1; P<.001). Suggestions for maintaining steady student performance are offered.

The Evaluation Of An Incentive Program Used To Recruit Health Club Memberships Through Friend Referrals, Michael D. Bowles

Masters Theses

This study evaluated an incentive program used to recruit memberships through friend referrals in a health club. A multiple-baseline design was used to compare the relative number of referrals made per person in the incentive conditions to the number made in the no-incentive conditions. In the first incentive condition for the two groups involved, the changes in the mean number of referrals per person dropped from .317 and .295 to .129 and .029 under the no-incentive conditions and back up to .291 and .297 under the second incentive condition. In looking at the cost and revenues attributable to this incentive …

Increasing Job Performance By Training Employees How To Request Instructions And Feedback, Laverne Talley Alebiosu

Masters Theses

This study investigated the effectiveness of a procedure to increase the job performance, defined as task completion, of four black adolescents serving as child care aides in a day care center. The trainees were taught to request instructions and feedback from their supervisor. They were also taught to self-record the number of requests for instructions and feedback and the tasks they completed. Training procedures therefore involved a method to increase task performance without any direct intervention on increasing tasks and incorporated these direct instruction techniques: Small group instruction; active responding; the model, lead, and test format; and the use of …

Congruence And Development Of Beliefs And Hierarchic Position Among Institutional Mental Patients, Keith T. Handell

Masters Theses

The institutional mental patient is trained to function within the institutional setting. Relegated to the lowest organizational stratum, the inpatient adjusts his behavior accordingly. The present study was designed to find support for the contention that these institutionally induced changes are internalized. It was expected that (a) evidence of congruence between inpatients' beliefs and their organizational status would be detected, and (b) belief system change as a function of institutional experience would also be discernible. The results generally supported these main hypotheses; however, due to the nature and number of uncontrolled variables, the data are inconclusive. Alternative interpretations of these …

Job Enlargement And Job Enrichment - A Meta-Analytic Study, Kenny Benedict Cemane

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Structured Meeting System: A Procedure For Supervising The Completion Of Nonrecurring Tasks, Barbara J. Fulton

Dissertations

Supervision of delegated tasks is often a source of organizational problems, because workers do not complete tasks as efficiently as managers expect. Analysis of the work setting suggests that behaviors of both supervisors and supervisees are governed by overlapping contingencies; different supervisor behaviors probably result in different contingencies for supervisee behavior. The analysis also reveals two categories of tasks: recurring tasks and nonrecurring tasks, with the latter type requiring frequent supervisor attention to assign new tasks and monitor previous ones. Contingencies for nonrecurring tasks were targeted for study in the present research, because of indications by managers that productivity and …

Underutilization Of Temporary Employees As A Determinant Of Turnover, Elizabeth De La Ossa

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Written Assignments With Deadlines To Increase The Completion Of Non-Recurring Tasks, James S. Torrey

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Written Instruction On The Giving Of Feedback, Robert L. Kowalski

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Communication Effectiveness And Implications For Job Satisfaction In A Retail Merchandising Corporation, Elisa S. Wierenga

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Improving Customer Service In A Large Department Store Through The Use Of Training And Feedback, Mark G. Brown

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to increase the frequency of four specific customer-service behaviors in three full-time department store salespeople. Each related to the steps involved in a sales transaction, the behaviors recorded were: approaching and greeting customers, being courteous, and appropriately closing the sale. These four responses were defined as exceptional customer service behaviors. A training program had only a slight impact on improving service, but feedback produced a substantial improvement in the frequency of all four targeted customer-service behaviors Removal of feedback produced a small decline in performance; but the percentage of exceptional customer-service behaviors increased to …

An Analysis Of Pre And Post Employment Interview Opinions Held By Applicants In A University Job Placement Center, Robert J. Mcavoy

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.