Investigating managers’ fine-grained evaluation processes in organizations: Exploring two dual-process perspectives

The dual-process theory is a significant theory in both organizational theory and social psychology and two conjectures about this theory are considered in this manuscript; the default-interventionist vs. parallel-competitive account. Our research goal is to empirically investigate these two views. In concrete terms, by using event-related potentials (ERPs), we seek to study the fine-grained brain processes and self-reported feelings involved in managers’ evaluations of target employees within an economic context (firing employees) vs. a social network context (excluding employees). Using the stereotype content model categories, each target employee has high (or low) warmth and high (or low) levels of competence. In the fine-grained ERP analysis of the brain process, we focus on three time windows of interest: novelty detection (N2) and goal violation detection (N400) at the unconscious level, and we then evaluate conscious emotional arousal (late positive potential, LPP). Finally, we focus on the self-reported feelings when having to fire or exclude target employees. As goal pursuit theory predicts, the brain dynamics and self-reported measures differ widely across the two organizational contexts; in concrete terms, processes at a later stage overrule early stages depending on the context. This implies that the data bespeaks more for the parallel-competitive account than the default-interventionist account. We discuss the implications of these findings for research in management and management practice.</p

Making things happen : a model of proactive motivation

Being proactive is about making things happen, anticipating and preventing problems, and seizing opportunities. It involves self-initiated efforts to bring about change in the work environment and/or oneself to achieve a different future. The authors develop existing perspectives on this topic by identifying proactivity as a goal-driven process involving both the setting of a proactive goal (proactive goal generation) and striving to achieve that proactive goal (proactive goal striving). The authors identify a range of proactive goals that individuals can pursue in organizations. These vary on two dimensions: the future they aim to bring about (achieving a better personal fit within one’s work environment, improving the organization’s internal functioning, or enhancing the organization’s strategic fit with its environment) and whether the self or situation is being changed. The authors then identify “can do,” “reason to,” and “energized to” motivational states that prompt proactive goal generation and sustain goal striving. Can do motivation arises from perceptions of self-efficacy, control, and (low) cost. Reason to motivation relates to why someone is proactive, including reasons flowing from intrinsic, integrated, and identified motivation. Energized to motivation refers to activated positive affective states that prompt proactive goal processes. The authors suggest more distal antecedents, including individual differences (e.g., personality, values, knowledge and ability) as well as contextual variations in leadership, work design, and interpersonal climate, that influence the proactive motivational states and thereby boost or inhibit proactive goal processes. Finally, the authors summarize priorities for future researc

Validating the Job Crafting Questionnaire (JCRQ): A multi-method and multi-sample study

Job crafting presents one set of proactive behaviours that employees may engage in to alter the job content or their relations at work. In recent years, several measures have been developed to capture job crafting. In the present study, we test the validity and reliability of an existing job crafting questionnaire (JCRQ) in four studies: First, we test the scale validity of the JCRQ in a Spanish diary study (Spain, N = 164, diary occasions 820). Second, we test the scale validity across two Western (Spain, N = 164, UK, N = 109) and two Eastern cultures (China, N = 170, Taiwan, N = 165). Third, we test the test-rest reliability in a Spanish three-wave longitudinal sample (N = 191). Finally, we test the criterion validity using data from the four countries. Results confirm the presence of five independent job crafting dimensions: increasing challenging demands, decreasing social job demands, increasing social job resources, increasing quantitative demands, and decreasing hindrance job demands. The JCRQ shows acceptable test-retest reliability, scale and criterion validity across the four studies

Being proactive at work - blessing or bane?

In most modern workplaces it is not enough for employees to react and adapt to changes in their environment; rather, they need to plan ahead and prepare for potential threats and dangers in the future by taking the initiative today. Research has shown that in general, engaging in proactive behaviour comes with beneficial results. But sometimes employee proactivity may also lead to negative (side) effects, such as increased stress. Employees therefore need to consider the trade-offs between rewards and potential costs of proactive behaviour at work

Mood configurations and their relationship to immune system responses: Exploring the relationship between moods, immune system responses, thyroid hormones, and social support

Analyzing data on 2,057 healthy subjects in the Dutch Lifelines database we explore the relationship between immune system responses, thyroid hormone functioning and people’s mood that is expected to be moderated by social support. We focus (1) on the innate immune system cell count: monocytes, eosinophil granulocytes, basophilic granulocytes, neutrophil granulocytes; and thrombocytes; and (2) on the adaptive immune system cell count: lymphocytes (T, B and NK cells). Moods were measured on the positive (PA) and negative (NA) dimensions of the PANAS scale, divided in four groups based on their PA and NA median scores: hedonic, positive mood, negative mood and anhedonic. We focus further on (3) thyroid cells: T3 and T4; and (4) on social support. We found significant differences between mood groups and mean cell counts for basophilic granulocytes and thrombocytes but not for monocytes, eosinophil granulocytes and neutrophil granulocytes in the innate immune system. However, in the adaptive immune system we found mean lymphocyte cell counts to be different in all four mood groups. We also found that T3 and T4 levels differ significantly across all mood groups and work in very close association with lymphocytes to activate the adaptive immune system. These differences were most significant in the hedonic and anhedonic groups. The findings allow us to better understand mood groups, especially the hedonic and anhedonic groups, and open up new avenues for intervention

Cyberbullying: who are the victims? A comparison of victimization in internet chatrooms and victimization in school

Bullying is not a phenomenon exclusive to the school environment. Pupils also become victims of verbal aggression (teasing, threats, insults, or harassment) in the context of internet chatrooms. The present study addresses the following questions: (1) How often does bullying occur in internet chatrooms? (2) Who are the victims of bullying in internet chatrooms? (3) What are the determinants of victimization in internet chatrooms? A total of 1700 pupils from various German secondary schools participated in the study. Results revealed a strong relationship between victimization in school and victimization in internet chatrooms; school victims are significantly more often chat victims. Furthermore, the predictors of chat and school victimization show both commonalities (gender, self-concept, child-parent relationship) and differences (social integration, popularity, and bullying behavior)