Conditional indirect effects of climate for service on OCB through work engagement: the role of supervisor’s organizational embodiment

This present research aims to analyze the concept of climate for service and the mediating and moderating processes through which it is associated with organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). It has been tested whether work engagement mediated the relationship between climate for service and OCB by using a sample of 593 employees from one large retail store. It was also examined whether the supervisor’s organizational embodiment (SOE) would moderate the link between climate for service and work engagement. Results confirmed both mediating and moderating effects in the research model, highlighting the relevance of such variables in a climate for service scenario

Emerging Issues in Occupational Health Psychology

This book compiles the cutting-edge research published in the Special Issue “Emerging Issues in Occupational Health Psychology” (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health). The articles included in this book use strong and innovative theoretical approaches to provide evidence regarding the importance of working characteristics and resources to promote healthier and more sustainable environments in which employees can be happy and productive

Educating for Engagement: The Influence of Physical Therapist Education on Lifelong Learning and Professional Engagement

Healthcare professions educational programs have a responsibility to develop professionally engaged lifelong learners. Knowledge of the factors important to the development of these desirable characteristics may inform educational leaders’ decisions about program and curriculum design. This study aimed to investigate the relation between level of education and an orientation towards lifelong learning and future professional engagement. In addition, the influence of learners’ type of motivation for continued learning, and learning goal orientation on this relation was also assessed. A cross-sectional survey of learners from a single healthcare profession, physical therapy was conducted to investigate these relations. Physical therapist learners from across the United States at all levels of formal professional and post-professional education were included invited to participate in the anonymous online survey. Path analysis was used to analyze the relations between the included factors. A total of 251 usable responses were included in the analysis. Results suggest that physical therapist learners increase their orientation toward lifelong learning and future professional engagement as they advance through the physical therapy education continuum. Furthermore, having greater autonomous and less controlled motivation increases this relation. Mastery goal orientation also had a positive direct effect on lifelong learning and professional engagement but this effect was independent of learners’ current level of education. Implications for educational leaders in the physical therapy profession are discussed along with recommendations for future research

Evaluating Ethical Technology Leadership: Organizational Culture, Leader Behavior, and a Cyberspace Ethic of Business

Evaluating ethical technology leadership at a financial services firm in North Carolina requires discovering interactions amongst organizational culture, leadership approaches, and ethical decision-making practices. This study provides insight into how the participating firm’s organizational culture creates a leadership climate accommodative of an applied cyberspace business ethic. A cyberspace business ethic provides guidance to technology leaders addressing ethical challenges arising from emergent digital technologies. The identification of four key influencers that support ethical decision-making and provide protection against reputational risk exposures create an understanding of the collective nature of core values, relational, reputational, and technological influences on ethical behaviors. Self-determination theory assists in understanding the motivations for ethical leader behavior in the form of competency, autonomy, and relatedness. Coupling this theoretical knowledge with identification of the four influencers of ethical decision-making provides the basis of understanding the participating firm’s applied cyberspace business ethic. Given the rapid pace of emerging digital technology deployment, a dynamic condition of internal environmental complexity and external environmental uncertainty creates the need for leaders to develop a cyberspace business ethic appropriate for the business context. The participating firm’s cyberspace business ethic centers on core values, transparency, and communication clarity, purposefully utilized to mitigate reputational risk. Applying a Christian worldview to study findings adds a theological construct to organizational core values and underlying virtue ethics

Measuring Job Satisfaction Among Kentucky Head Principals Using the Rasch Rating Scale Model

The continued expansion of principals\u27 responsibilities is having a detrimental effect on their job satisfaction; therefore, it is increasingly challenging to retain these important leaders. Effective principals can impact student learning and other vital outcomes; thus, it is important to be able to retain effective school leaders. Examining the perceived sources of principals’ satisfaction and dissatisfaction with their work has strong implications for policies and practices that can be implemented to increase principal retention. The purpose of this study was to measure the job satisfaction of head principals in Kentucky. The research conducted was an exploratory study using survey research methods. The study sought to obtain a census sample of all head principals throughout Kentucky’s 174 public school districts (N=1,158). A total of 478 responses were collected providing a response rate of 41%. A profile of the demographic and personal characteristics of Kentucky principals was constructed, and principals’ satisfaction with specified job facets was measured using the Rasch Rating Scale Model (RRSM). Findings determined that economic job attributes were not significant sources of dissatisfaction for principals in this sample. Principals were also found to be satisfied with psychological job attributes with the exception of the effect of their job on their personal life. Data in this study indicated that head principals in Kentucky were: (a) highly dissatisfied with the amount of hours they work; (b) highly dissatisfied with the amount of time spent on tasks that have nothing to do with their primary responsibility of improving student outcomes; and (c) highly dissatisfied with the lack of time they are able to spend on tasks that are directly related to improving student outcomes. A primary implication of this research was that Kentucky policy makers and superintendents could simultaneously increase principal retention and student outcomes by eliminating managerial job tasks not directly tied to instruction from the principalship so that principals can focus solely on instructional leadership

Better Decisions Through the Application of Positive Psychology

Decision making is a necessary and integral part of life. This paper examines several specific concepts related to decision making and attempts to demonstrate how to create a positively charged culture that embraces change, attracts talent and improves decision making. First we will discuss how leveraging our personal strengths instead of focusing on our weaknesses can lead to a culture that emboldens people to take appropriate risks and encourages them to focus on the opportunities in change. Second we will discuss how having positive, high quality relationships creates a supportive workplace that attracts and retains talent and fosters collaboration. Third, we will explain how being engaged in what we do, finding meaning in our work and recognizing and acknowledging the role emotions play in our lives can all positively affect our decision making abilities. Fourth, we will discuss how all of us utilize decision making short cuts called heuristics that often serve us well but can sometimes lead to unhelpful biases. We will describe some of the most common heuristics people use and the potential biases they produce and offer some suggestions on how we can overcome these biases, when appropriate, to make the best decisions possible. Finally, we will discuss how positive emotions affect decisions as well as result from the decision making concepts discussed

Perceived organisational support and well-being: the mediating effect of psychological capital

The field of Positive Psychology focuses on the strengths and positive capacities of human beings and investigates how mental well-being can be actively enhanced. Analysis of those factors influencing employee well-being constitutes a valuable approach for research purposes. Based on the Job Demands-Resources Theory and the Conservation of Resources Theory, it was assumed that Perceived Organisational Support (POS) and the higher-order construct of Psychological Capital (PsyCap), consisting of the facets of self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience, are all resources that can contribute to a sense of greater well-being for employees. It was proposed that POS fuels the capacity of PsyCap, which can then result in an accumulation of resources leading to enhanced well-being. It was therefore hypothesised that the positive capacity of PsyCap would mediate the relationship between POS and well-being. A non-experimental, cross-sectional design using convenience and snowball sampling via personal contacts and social media was utilised. A research sample of 159 South African participants who completed an online survey was thus recruited. The respective constructs were assessed by means of the Survey of Perceived Organisational Support (SPOS), the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ-24), and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS). All measures revealed excellent reliability. The SPOS and the WEMWBS were found to be valid after minor construct modifications had been made. The four-factor structure of the PCQ-24 could not be validated due to high inter-correlations between the subscales. Each subscale, however, was shown to be valid. The results of the statistical analysis indicate that POS, PsyCap and well-being are positively correlated with each other. Hierarchical regression analyses, structural equation modelling, and bootstrapping revealed that PsyCap fully mediates the relationship between POS and well-being. This implies that organisations can contribute to a greater sense of well-being in their employees by systematically enhancing their PsyCap through the offer of support structures