Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons^™

The Application Of Leadership Skills By Managers, Supervisors, And Group Leaders In A Small Manufacturing Company: Self-Management As A Transfer Of Training Method, Jason Chadwell

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine if training in self-management principles would enhance the transfer of training in leadership skills to the work setting. Managers, supervisors, and group leaders of a small manufacturing company served as the participants for the study. Two training groups were formed, one which received training in leadership skills only and another which received training in leadership skills and self-management. Prior to and after training all participants completed a learning measure and were rated by subordinates, peers, and/or supervisors on the demonstration of leadership skills on the job. Results showed that training significantly increased …

Effects Of Linear And Non-Linear Incentive Pay Systems With Individual And Group Payouts On The Social Psychology Phenomenon Of Social Loafing, Delores A. Tinley Smoot

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was twofold. First, the experiment investigated the occurrence of social loafing behavior when individuals are engaged in a production task. Social loafing is defined as a decrement in individual performance when working co-actively with a group. Second, the experiment compared the effectiveness of three incentive pay systems (linear, positively and negatively accelerating) in eliminating social loafing behavior and in generating performance levels higher than those generated by a flat or hourly pay system.

Sixteen undergraduate students, all female, participated in twenty-five 15- minute work sessions in which they made widgets from pop beads. Subjects …

Fostering The Development Of Domain-General, Nonlinear Mental Models: A Foundation For Systemic Thinking, Jeffrey S. Sinn

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Two experiments examined whether people can develop a domain-general, nonlinear mental model when provided with an appropriate conceptual model. Both experiments presented causal loop models (i.e., variables connected in a circle by arrows representing causal relationships) as a conceptual model for positive feedback. Study 1 found that participants trained in causal loop modeling could accurately represent scenarios of low but not high complexity. Study 2 expanded on the design of Study 1 by varying the type of training and type of aid presented during testing. Participants received training with modeling instruction, training with cue-utilization instruction (i.e., participants were trained to …

To Lead A Team: Construct Validity Evidence For Team Leadership In The High-Tech Industry, Johanna M. Merritt

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Two studies were conducted to gather evidence of construct validity for functions of team leadership. The research built on a continuing line of background research. Three hundred and thirty-seven team leaders from sixty-three companies in the manufacturing electronics industry participated in the studies and completed surveys.

Four types of validity evidence were examined: content, criterion-related, convergent, and discriminant. Content validity evidence was demonstrated in Study 1. The overwhelming majority of team leaders perFormed the proposed functions and rated them as important. A confirmatory analysis did not indicate a parsimonious fit among the seven functions that were generated from background research …

A Comparison Of Self-Generated Task Strategies And Explicitly-Provided Task Strategies In The Context Of Goal Setting, Jonathan Edward Turner

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

By using a complex, managerial, decision-making simulation, the longitudinal effects of self-generated task strategies as compared to explicitly-provided strategies and no strategies were investigated in the context of goal setting. The simulation placed participants in the role of a hypothetical manager for a furniture manufacturing organization. The task of the participants was to assign several employees to different jobs dealing with weekly work orders for the manufacturing of specific pieces of furniture. Participants were also asked to make decisions regarding the setting of performance goals for these employees, providing feedback, and allocating rewards. A sample of 120 college students was …

Groundcrew Coordination Training: An Application Of Team Training To Aviation Ramp Activities, I. Benjamin Sian

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Crew Resource Management (CRM) training has been used effectively in civilian and military aviation to improve flight safety and reduce mishaps. Aircrew Coordination Training (ACT), the Navy's version of CRM, has had similar effects. An examination of aviation ground mishaps by the Naval Safety Center revealed that the same team coordination breakdowns affecting aircrews were impacting groundcrews. In order to explore the viability of team training for aviation ground personnel, two studies were conducted to test the generalizability of the existing ACT program in a maintenance context. Specifically, "Groundcrew Coordination" Training (GCT) was tailored for training flight line personnel who …

Effects Of Alternative Activities On Productivity Under Different Percentages Of Incentive Pay, Grainne A. Matthews

Dissertations

This study examined whether low percentages of incentive pay would be as effective as high percentages in maintaining work performance in the presence of competitive alternative activities. Incentives may increase performance primarily by decreasing time spent performing alternative activities. Although the link between performance and pay is tighter when the percentage of incentive pay is higher, laboratory studies have not found the expected difference. It is possible that previous simulations of work settings have not offered realistic competing contingencies. This study used a computer simulation of a quality inspection task and provided computer games as alternative activities to participants who …

The Effects Of Individual, Contextual, And Moral Intensity Factors On Environmental Ethical Decision Making, Brenda L. Flannery

Management and Entrepreneurship Department Publications

Most extant studies of organizational ethical decision making have been remiss in doing one or more of the following: (a) building theoretical foundations; (b) encompassing the individual, contextual, and issue-specific determinants impacting ethical judgments; (c) offering testable hypotheses; and/or (d) establishing methodological rigor. This study confronted those challenges aiming to understand the decision intentions of top managers in the metal finishing industry concerning the treatment of hazardous wastewater. This study employed an extended version of Ajzen's (1988) theory of planned behavior. The theory accommodatingly modeled the individual (i.e., attitudes, self-efficacy, personal moral obligation), contextual (subjective norms, organizational climate, and financial …

A Systems Approach To Performance Quality: An Application To Higher Education, Tobias Lafleur

Dissertations

Graduate-student teaching apprentices (TAs) in the psychology department at a university in Michigan conducted seminars in an advanced undergraduate-level psychology course. All were members of the department’s behavior analysis training system (BATS). BATS was an integrated series of courses and practicum experiences designed to achieve three main goals: recruiting, training, and maintaining the skills of competent behavior analysts. Twenty-five different tasks performed by the TAs were analyzed and measured prior to an intervention aimed at their improvement. Informal observation suggested that failure to complete these tasks reduced BATS’ ability to meet its larger goals. Three well-known systems analysis models were …

Structural Equation Modeling Of Attitudes Toward Employment Testing, Laura Susan Hamil

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This research investigated the relationships among past testing experiences, testing attitudes, perceptions of test performance, race, and gender. In addition, the effects of testing information on testing attitudes were studied. Two hundred and twelve applicants to a variety of positions in a large telecommunications company were asked to complete a series of questionnaires before and after employment testing. The questionnaires included measures of testing experience, general and specific testing attitudes, and perceptions of test performance. Scores on the employment test were also obtained as a measure of cognitive ability. Of the 212 participants, half were given a brochure to read …

Towards Understanding Why Assessment Centers Work: An Evaluation Of The Subtle Criterion Contamination Hypothesis, Christopher T. Rotolo

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The success of the assessment center method in predicting job performance has been one of the most researched efforts in personnel psychology (Thornton, 1992). However, there is little reported evidence showing that assessment center procedures produce scores that serve as valid representations of separate constructs (Klimoski & Brickner, 1987). It is perhaps ironic, then, that despite the success stories, we still do not understand why assessment centers "work," (i.e., predict performance).

This study examined the subtle criterion contamination hypothesis as an explanation to assessment center validity. The subtle criterion contamination hypothesis states that assessment centers predict managerial performance because assessors …

Psychopolitics Of International Crime: An Introduction, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This paper posits psychological consequences of international organized crime.

Sex As A Military Weapon, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

Disagreements about military personnel policies on sexuality may be based on the wrong criteria.

Re-Evaluating The Major Stressors Of Policing, James Walter Carter Ii

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In this study, a sample of 37 officers employed with the Huntington Police Department, a medium-sized Appalachian police department, were sampled about the stressfulness and frequency of selected items from Sewell’s Life Events Scale. From the responses to the survey items, a scale was created to assess the combined effects of frequency and stressfulness. Respondents were also asked to indicate what percentage of their total accumulated job-related stress was generated by each of Barker and Carter’s generic stressors of policing. Several group differences were found. A ranking of stressors was developed for the frequency, stress, the combined scales and compared …

Personality Factors Linked To Workplace Aggression As Measured By The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (Mbti), Scott A. Cottrell

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The present study examined the relationship between the personality dimensions assessed by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and perceptions of workplace behaviors and the readiness to exhibit various forms of workplace aggression. College students with at least part-time work experience 129 (75 females and 54 males) completed the MBTI and a survey which asked participants to provide ratings of; (1) to which they would label various forms of workplace behavior as aggressive, and (2) the extent to which they have personally witnessed and exhibited various forms of workplace aggression. The results indicated that Men were less likely " indirect" workplace …

Degree Of Organizational Change And Job Insecurity, Heidi Anne Schmitz

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Human Resource Professionals' Perception Of Human Resources' Value To Senior Management, Tamara Grullon Sehi

Theses Digitization Project

This study examines and describes the perceptions of human resource professionals about their contribution and that of their departments to strategic planning and management. Human resource leaders from organizations with five hundred or more employees in Southern California responded to this survey. The significance of this study is its potential to increase our understanding of the contribution of the human resource function to strategic planning.

Negative Evaluations And Affirmative Action: The Preseverence Of Stigmatization, Miriam Guadalupe Resendez

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Human-Computer Communication Mode, Task Complexity, And Desire For Control On Performance And Discourse Organization In An Adaptive Task, Cristina Bubb-Lewis

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study examined how different communication patterns affected task performance with an adaptive interface. A Wizard-of-Oz simulation (Gould, Conti, & Hovanyecz, 1983) was used to create the impression of a talking and listening computer that acted as a teammate to help participants interact with a computer application.

Four levels of communication mode were used which differed in the level of restriction placed on human-computer communication. In addition, participants completed two sets of tasks (simple and complex). Further, a personality trait, Desire for Control (DC), was measured and participants were split into high and low groups for analysis. Dependent measures …

The Comprehensive Organizational Social Support Tool: Cosst Assessment, Amanda Kroger

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis describes the development of an instrument (the Comprehensive Organizational Social Support Tool (COSST)) designed to assess the extent to which organizations foster socially supportive interactions amongst their employees. Research indicates that the support that individuals receive from their co-workers in the workplace can have a significant impact on their physical and emotional health, and their commitment to, and performance within, an organization. Organizations can do much to foster these kinds of supportive interactions. However, in order for an organization to determine the strategies it should employ in enhancing support, it is necessary to assess what it is currently …

Organizational Change And Inclusive Practices: Promoting Access For Diverse Populations In The Canadian Mental Health Association (Waterloo Region Branch) (Ontario), James W. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This research began a process and generated information that would help guide the Canadian Mental Health Association/Waterloo Region Branch (CMHA/WRB) in developing services that meet the needs of all residents in the area it serves. This project was comprised of two phases. The phases were conceptualized as being intervention cycles consisting of information, awareness and action-building components. The first phase consisted of work done within the agency itself, to help articulate the goals, attitudes, and possible barriers seen by the paid/non-paid staff towards the new multicultural emphasis. This work involved three focus groups with paid and non-paid staff. As well, …

Relations Of Burnout To Elementary School Teachers, Special Education Beliefs, And Referral Expectations, Nichole A. Ledermann

Masters Theses

The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI; Maslach, Jackson, & Schwab, 1996), a teacher survey of expectations and preferences concerning case study evaluation referral, and demographic questions were completed by regular education elementary school teachers (n=88) in a midwestern city suburb. Results suggested that symptoms of burnout were not evident among this sample of professionals according to Maslach et al. (1996) criteria. Spearman Rho correlations between the MBI subscales and expectations or preferences to have students referred, tested and placed into special education services were not significant. Significant correlations were replicated among the subscales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Results suggested that …

A Survey Of Health Care Personnel's Perceptions Toward Diversity In The Workplace, Jacqueline Elaine Sharpe

Health Services Research Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the diversity climate in a large teaching military hospital by assessing the perceptions of employees regarding the organizational climate, including aspects of the climate related to ethnicity, gender, age, physical ability, sexual orientation, and job level. All 3,176 eligible employees based in the medical center were invited to participate, 1,252 did so (RR = 40%). Participants were 37% minority, 57% females, 25% officer, 30% enlisted, and 45% civilian. Twenty-four percent were at the managerial level. Perceptions of the diversity climate were measured using the Diversity Survey Instrument (the reliability and validity of …

Using Biodata To Predict Alternative Measures Of Training Period Turnover, Ronald Pankratz

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Logistic Regression was utilized to add to what is known about biodata and turnover. Biodata items from 958 former and current employees in a manufacturing environment were used to develop models to predict a) which employees will turnover prior to completion of a ninety-day training period, b) who will leave voluntarily versus involuntarily, and of those who leave voluntarily c) which leavers are functional versus dysfunctional. A significant relationship was found between biodata items and completion of the ninety-day training period. The resulting model indicated that those who completed training were employed at time of hire, had higher aptitude scores, …

Work Redesign And Its Influence On Employee Motivation And Job Satisfaction, John Koscielniak

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Reengineering and work redesign have become the buzzwords of the healthcare industry giving rise to the unprecedented growth of reengineering / work redesign consultants who offer cookbook methods to make the organization efficient and reduce costs. The unfortunate consequence of this rush to redesign is that the employer accepts recommendations to change the organization without knowing the state of the workforce. The purpose of this research is to test the effects of work redesign as implemented at two for-profit hospitals using a measurement tool developed specifically for work redesign. The intent is to compare the hospitals separately as each work …

Worker Productivity As A Function Of The Percentage Of Monetary Incentives To Base Pay, Carol J. Frisch

Dissertations

Several studies have shown that individuals working under pay conditions with monetary incentives have higher levels of productivity than individuals working for non-incentive pay, such as hourly wages (Abernathy, Duffy, & O’Brien, 1982; Dierks & McNally, 1987; Farr, 1976; Gaetani, Hoxeng, & Austin, 1986; George & Hopkins, 1989; London & Oldham, 1977; Orpen, 1982; Nebeker & Neuberger, 1985; Terborg & Miller, 1978; Yukl, Wexley, & Seymore, 1972). It has also been noted that a minimum of 30% incentive is generally accepted as necessary to affect (employee) motivation (Fein, 1970), and increasing incentives above this level will not result in appreciable …

Environmental Attitudes And Behaviors: An Examination Of The Antecedents Of Behavior Among Air Force Members At Work, Mark S. Laudenslager

Theses and Dissertations

A questionnaire was randomly distributed to members of the United States Air Force at Wright Patterson AFB, OH, with 307 returned. The survey was designed to test the theory of planned behavior (TPB) model developed by Icek Ajzen, and the organizational theory of planned behavior (OTPB) model explored in this research effort. Validation and measurement of the TPB in relation to an organizational setting was accomplished, with the organizational theory of planned behavior (OTPB) developed. The behaviors and intentions individuals have towards recycling, energy conservation, and carpooling were examined, with the demographic variables of gender, age, and education also investigated. …

Measuring Organizational Climate For Diversity, Amy L. Vick

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The Climate for Diversity Index measures three dimensions associated with the ability of organizations or units to create an environment that allows members of all sociocultural backgrounds to participate and fully develop. The climate for diversity impacts individual outcomes such as general job satisfaction, affective commitment, identification with a psychological group/department, organizational citizenship behavior, and the intent to turnover. Several structural models depicting the relationship between the climate for diversity and the individual outcome variables were examined. Significant differences in perceptions of the climate for diversity are predicted by ethnicity, disability, and position. Data were provided by 319 members of …

A Structural Model Of Antecedents And Consequences Of Satisfaction With Growth And Development, Greg E. Loviscky

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Because downsizing and re-organizing have altered the social contract between employers and employees, employees have found additional incentive to grow and develop by adding to their portfolio of skills. In order to establish the validity of satisfaction with growth and development, an hypothesized model is tested and compared with competing models. 'our hundred and sixty three employees from a large southeastern city completed a questionnaire that examined attitudes regarding satisfaction with growth and development, general job satisfaction, and hypothesized antecedents (i.e., context and individual variables) and consequences (i.e., organizational commitment) of satisfaction with growth and development. LISREL VIII (Joreskog & …

Construct Validation Of The Small Unit Equal Opportunity Climate Survey, Arlene L. Pace

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to continue in the development of an equal opportunity climate survey, suitable for small groups, by establishing the construct validity of this newly developed measure. Four-hundred and twenty-nine members of 7 United States Coast Guard Units were administered the Small Unit Equal Opportunity Climate Survey (SUEOCS), an attitudinal instrument suitable for small groups. Conceptual analyses, item and scale analyses, and a confirmatory factor analysis via LISREL VIlI (Joreskog & Sorbom, 1989), were used to establish the factor structure of the SUEOCS. The results of these analyses indicated that the hypothesized factor structure was …