Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons^™

The Perceived Effectiveness Of The Borgess Human Assistance Program As Measured By A Checklist Of Key Components, Kevin G. Clark

Masters Theses

This study investigated the success and perceived effectiveness of an employee assistance program. Phase I consisted of interviewing representatives of the ten companies that were the most frequent users of the program. Phase II examined the program's annual report. The results were tabulated and compared to a checklist of key components which gauge the effectiveness of a successful employee assistance program (Egdahl and Walsh, 1980). The evidence indicated that the program operates in accord with Egdahl and Walsh's checklist.

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 …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Participation, Expected Payment, And No Expected Payment On Clerical Performance, James Theodore Austin

Masters Theses

Seventeen psychology students participated in a group comparison of the effects of participative decision making, defined as subject decision making in three areas of the experiment, expected payment, and no expected payment on performance of a repetitive scanning task. Measures of performance quantity and quality were assessed directly, while satisfaction and manipulation checks were evaluated via selfreport. Clerical pretest scores were used as covariates in an analysis of covariance, which revealed no significant differences on the quantity dimension but-highly significant differences (p = .03) for quality (error) performance. The findings, which may have been biased by an experimenter "instruction" effect, …

Performance Feedback And Its Relationship To Goal Setting, Douglas A. Nicola

Masters Theses

This study illustrated the effect of information feedback and goal setting on production efficiency. Two male machine operators (ages 29 and 54) working on a low efficiency press were selected for the study. Operators were initially given efficiency information following individual production runs. The next phase involved providing efficiency information and a request that they set efficiency goals for each run. These goals were noted by the researcher and compared with the actual results. In a final phase, high efficiency goals were prompted by the researcher, compared to actual results, and shown to the subjects following each run. Results showed …

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

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Use Of A Job Model With Self-Recording And Performance Information As An Alternative To On-Site Supervision, Mark Kevin Forbes

Masters Theses

The action goal of the study was to reduce performance deficits of relief employees who operated a Group Home, though use of a Job Model, self-recording, and performance information. The research goal was to ascertain if generalization occurred from performance accomplishments targeted by the intervention to accomplishments not targeted. Overall performance means increased over 34 percentage points for subjects following the Job model intervention and rose further after self-recording and feedback were introduced. The use of a partial Job Model resulted in performance improving or maintaining in five of six nontargeted accomplishments. When Subject A received the Job Model, self-recording, …

Vantage Level Analysis: A Potential Tool For Reducing Conflict In A Labor Union, Pamela S.F. Shevchik

Masters Theses

Intra-group conflict among employees can cause a break in the organizational communication which could affect productivity. A major problem is locating the specific disagreements among the coworkers to find the source of conflict and increase the likelihood that a basis for reducing conflict can be found.

This study used the Gilbert (1978) vantage level analysis as a method of sorting agreements and disagreements in a conflicting labor union. The setting was a clerical union in a public school system which was subdivided into three conflicting subgroups. There were 70 female support personnel involved. Data collected demonstrated that it is possible …

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.

Quality Control: A Behavioral Perspective, Cathy L. Thorne

Masters Theses

Because of the high costs of quality, many disciplines have developed techniques to assist in its control. This paper examines quality control from a behavioral perspective by analyzing how behaviors affecting may be acquired and maintained and examining some common quality interventions. It is concluded that the application of the principles of behavior analysis can assist in providing an effective quality control technology which can benefit individual employees and the organization as a whole.

College Education And Police Officer Performance: A Critical Assessment, Gary T. Stafford

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

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 …

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 …

Comparability Of Blind And Sighted Subject Test Scores As Affected By Mode Of Test Presentation, Gary A. Meiseles

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Optimal Versus Suboptimal Decision-Making Models: Determination Of Aviator Task Proficiency, Melgarejo Betty Pereya

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Improving The Accuracy Of Performance Evaluations: A Comparison Of Three Methods Of Performance Appraiser Training, Jerry Willard Hedge

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Researchers in the area of rater training have relied almost exclusively on rater error measures to assess training effectiveness. A reduction in rater tendency to commit these errors subsequent to training is viewed as evidence that these raters have become more accurate in rating their employees. This assumed relationship between rater errors and rating accuracy has recently been questioned. This uncertain relationship between psychometric errors and accuracy was the focus of the current research effort. Supervisory personnel were trained under one of three training programs (psychometric error training, observation training, or decision-making training). Halo, leniency, range restriction and accuracy measures …

Causal Modeling Of Organizational Commitment, Karin E. Klenke-Hamel

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This research was designed to develop a model of organizational commitment by establishing a causal network among three individual characteristics--tenure, work motivation, and job satisfaction--two organizational/structural variables--decentralization and formalization,--and two job facets--the job characteristic model and job stress--as determinants of commitment.

The proposed model was tested on male and female samples represented by five occupational groups ranging from blue collar to professional workers. Successive iterations of a path analytic technique indicated that across the five occupational categories, job satisfaction was the single most important determinant of organizational commitment. However, if the facets of job satisfaction were examined more closely, important …

An Analysis Of The Relationships Between Environmental Stimuli Personality Variables And Levels Of Burnout In Intensive Care Nurses, Catherine Via Cauthorne

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The syndrome of burnout is characterized by the development of negative self-perceptions and behaviors designed to protect oneself from emotional distress in a worker as a result of painful emotional stress generated by interactions between psychological demands from the work environment, personality needs of the worker, and the worker's self-perceived difficulty in meeting these demands and needs. The contributions of both environmental characteristics and personality traits to burnout levels were examined in a group of 45 intensive care nurses. Tests used included the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, a data questionnaire, the Survey of Organizations, and the Maslach Burnout …

Burnout Among Elementary And Secondary Special Education Teachers In Self-Contained And Resource Classrooms, Pamela Knox Jones

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The goals of the present study were threefold: (1) to determine if there is a difference in the degree of reported burnout between elementary and secondary special education teachers, (2) to determine if there is a difference in the degree of reported burnout between self-contained and resource special education teachers, and (3) to identify the characteristics inherent in the role of special education teachers that best predict the presence of burnout. Ninety-three subjects from three school systems responded to a 16-item Likert scale describing potential correlates of

burnout, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and a demographic data sheet. Type of class, …

An Attributional Analysis Of The Expectancy Component Of Motivation Theory, John Edward Mathieu

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Many modern work motivation theories are based at least in part on individuals’ subjective expectancies regarding successful job performance. However, the antecedent conditions and developmental process inherent in these formulations have yet to be specifies clearly. The present study utilizes the components of Social Learning Theory and Attribution Theory to examine these conditions in a laboratory setting. Experimental and correlational techniques were used to explore the relative contributions of both state and trait variables on causal attributions. Differences among causal attributions rated on relevance versus quantity were illustrated. Additionally, the underlying processes relating causal attributions, affective responses and future expectancy …

The Effects Of Rater-Ratee Discrepancies And Interview Processes On Appraisal Effectiveness, Scott I. Tannenbaum

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Forty-two performance appraisal interviews, at two urban hospitals, were examined to assess the relative effects of rater-ratee discrepancies and interview processes on appraisal effectiveness. This study attempted to improve on the methodology of previous research by: using multi-item scales, incorporating hierarchical regression analyses, and requesting completion of post-interview questionnaires within 24 hours of the interview. Discrepancy between self-ratings and supervisor's initial evaluations were collected prior to the interview. In addition, nurses' perceptions of the interview processes and appraisal effectiveness were measured via a post-interview questionnaire. It was found that discrepancies affected subsequent interview processes, which in turn were related to …

The Effects Of Task Experience, Goal Setting, And Knowledge Of Results On Performance And Task-Goal Attributes, Edward Scott Wright

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Two laboratory studies were conducted to determine the relationships between task-goal attributes and the necessary and sufficient conditions for goal setting and knowledge of results (KR) to influence task performance. The first study tested the effects of task experience and goal setting on performance of an arithmetic computation task. Perceived goal difficulty, effort, expectancy of goal attainment, and goal acceptance were assessed with a questionnaire. The results demonstrated that only goals influenced effort and perceived goal difficulty, while task experience and goals influenced expectancy of goal attainment and goal acceptance. The relationships between these variables indicated that as effort and …

The Relationship Between Job Characteristics And Job Satisfaction For Engineers And Engineering Students, Sherry L. Hoy

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

A modified version of Hackman Lawler's job characteristics model was used to investigate the relationships between pre-employment perceptions of job characteristics and expectations tor job satisfaction in a sample of 111 engineering students. In lieu of a longitudinal designs a sample of 86 professional engineers were accessed as a comparison group. The independent variables included in the study were: (a) the six job characteristics in the Job Characteristics Inventory (variety autonomy task identity, feedback dealing with others and friendship opportunities) (b) three measures of job satisfaction from the short-form of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (general, intrinsic and extrinsic) and (c) …

A Study Of The Construct Differential Validity Of A Performance Appraisal System, Hughette I. Crumpler

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Role Conflict, Role Ambiguity And Job Tenure And Their Relationship To Absenteeism, Rita G. Huff

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Analysis Of Factors Influencing Registered Nurse Retention And Turnover Below The Head Nurse Level In Acute Care Hospitals, Jean M. Snyder

Ellmer School of Nursing Theses & Dissertations

In a comparative survey, two groups of registered nurses (stayers and leavers) below the head nurse level were measured in the areas of human need satisfaction perception, role perception, and equity perception. The two registered nurse groups were further subdivided by educational preparation into diploma, associate, and baccalaureate degree stayers and leavers for comparative analysis. Literature reviews revealed considerable research in the area of retention and turnover, but few studies used a theoretical framework and a multivariate basis for observation. One hundred nine registered nurses from the ten area acute care hospitals were surveyed using an independently developed Nursing Perceptions …

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) …

A Factor Analytic Comparison Of The Work Values Of Divergent Groups, Janette A. Hankins

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

A new concept in motivation has recently been devised: that of work values. The Work Values Inventory (WVI) developed by Donald E. Super (1970) was used to test five hypotheses:

(1) The underlying work value structures of persons will not vary according to age;

(2) The underlying work value structures of persons will not vary according to sex;

(3) The underlying work value structures of persons will vary according to level (undergraduate, master's degree students, or post-master's degree);

(4) The underlying work value structures of college students will vary according to whether they are a psychology major or not;

(5) …