Employee Attitudinal Effects of Perceived Performance Appraisal Use

This research investigates how employee perceptions of performance appraisal use relate to employee satisfaction with the performance appraisal and with the appraiser—the employees’ immediate supervisor. Employee perceptions that appraisals were used for development positively associated with both attitudinal variables, after controlling for justice perceptions, performance, and demographics. Perceptions of PA use for evaluation did not show a significant relationship with either employee attitude. Implications of these findings are discussed

Employee Line of Sight to the Organization’s Strategic Objectives – What it is, How it can be Enhanced, and What it Makes Happen

Employee_Line_of_SightWP01_06.pdf: 13661 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

The Relationship Between Job Search Objectives and Job Search Behavior

This research expands the notion of “job search” beyond traditional models of searching for an alternative yet similar job, arguing that motivations for search are varied. Specifically, we investigate whether search objectives associate with use of different search processes. A study of high-level managers found mixed support for the hypotheses

When Stock Options Fail to Motivate: Attribution and Context Effects on Stock Price Expectancy

This study draws on attribution theory and literature from compensation and strategy to investigate executives’ perceptions about their influence over the firm’s stock price. We define stock price expectancy as the extent to which executives feel that they can influence the firm’s stock price. Results from of a survey of 435 U.S. executives suggest that stock price expectancy is related to both attributional and contextual antecedents. Based on these findings we discuss implications for the extension of expectancy theory and the design and administration of incentive systems

The Influence of Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment on Executive Withdrawal and Performance

This research examines the influence of job satisfaction and three dimensions of organizational commitment (i.e., affective, continuance, and normative) on the intention to leave, job search activity, performance, and leadership effectiveness of executives. Job satisfaction and the commitment dimensions were hypothesized to negatively predict the retention-related variables. Results generally supported the hypotheses. Job satisfaction had the strongest relationship, but both affective and continuance commitment showed an incremental effect even in the presence of job satisfaction. We also hypothesized that job satisfaction and affective commitment would positively and continuance commitment would negatively associate with general performance and leadership. As predicted, job satisfaction associated positively with performance, though not with leadership. Continuance commitment negatively associated with both performance and leadership

“You’re Nobody ‘til Somebody Loves You”: The Use of Job Search for Bargaining Leverage

The purpose of this research is to investigate a previously overlooked yet important objective for an employee engaging in job search – seeking alternative employment to obtain leverage against the current employer. We focus specifically on how employees conduct job search to obtain leverage, and then turn to the question of what motivates employees to adopt this objective. Using a sample of high-level managers, our results indicate the leverage-seeking job search predicts both preparatory and active search beyond the more traditional reason for engaging in job search (i.e., to change jobs). However, as expected, leverage-seeking search was a weaker predictor of the job search processes compared to searching to leave and was not significantly related to job satisfaction. Hierarchical level, perceived alternatives, financial independence, and the meaning attached to money significantly predicted leverage-seeking search, while compensation level, equity, and career plateau showed little effect. Implications for practice and future research on job search and employee retention more generally are discussed

Effects of Personality on Executive Career Success in the U.S. and Europe

The present study extended prior career success models by incorporating traits from the five-factor model of personality (often termed the Big Five ) and several dimensions of extrinsic (remuneration, ascendancy, job level, employability) and intrinsic (job, life, and career satisfaction) career success. The model examined both direct effects, and the mediating effects of an array of human capital and motivation variables derived from prior research. Data were collected from two large samples of American and European executives. Some results supported prior research: Extroversion related positively, and neuroticism negatively, to intrinsic career success across both the U.S. and European samples. Some results differed from expectations: (1) Conscientiousness was mostly unrelated to extrinsic success and negatively related to intrinsic success in both samples; (2) Agreeableness was negatively related to extrinsic success in both samples. Differences emerged between the European and American samples, in that: (1) Neuroticism associated with lower levels of extrinsic success for the American executives but not the Europeans; (2) Extroversion associated with higher levels of extrinsic success for the European executives, but not the Americans. For both samples, human capital and motivational variables associated predictably with career success, but seldom mediated the relationship between personality and career success

Addressing business agility challenges with enterprise systems

It is clear that systems agility (i.e., having a responsive IT infrastructure that can be changed quickly to meet changing business needs) has become a critical component of organizational agility. However, skeptics continue to suggest that, despite the benefits enterprise system packages provide, they are constraining choices for firms faced with agility challenges. The reason for this skepticism is that the tight integration between different parts of the business that enables many enterprise systems\u27 benefits also increases the systems\u27 complexity, and this increased complexity, say the skeptics, increases the difficulty of changing systems when business needs change. These persistent concerns motivated us to conduct a series of interviews with business and IT managers in 15 firms to identify how they addressed, in total, 57 different business agility challenges. Our analysis suggests that when the challenges involved an enterprise system, firms were able to address a high percentage of their challenges with four options that avoid the difficulties associated with changing the complex core system: capabilities already built-in to the package but not previously used, leveraging globally consistent integrated data already available, using add-on systems available on the market that easily interfaced with the existing enterprise system, and vendor provided patches that automatically updated the code. These findings have important implications for organizations with and without enterprise system architectures

Rugged, low-conductance, heat-flow probe

Lightweight, compact probe structure has low thermal conductance to enable accurate measurement of slight temperature gradients. Probe combines ruggedness, high precision, accuracy, and stability. Device can withstand vibration, shock, acceleration, temperature extremes, and high vacuums, and should interest industrial engineers and geologists

A Gateway to Economic Success

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a leader in the United States, a gleaming example of the American dream and the way life should be. We are always at the forefront of world-class innovation, house arts and culture that rival some of the best cities in the world, and have high-class educational institutes rivaled by almost no other region. Massachusetts leads the way when it comes to progressive ideals that provide for the less fortunate and ensure equality for all while keeping taxes reasonable, unemployment down, and living wage jobs readily available. With all that said, I began to ponder why our economic development and grants system was centered around Gateway Cities. There is a concern in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts regarding gateway cities and their effectiveness. Despite significant investment into the support and development of sizable former manufacturing and mill communities, it seems the Gateway Cities program has failed at creating economic and fiscal growth midpoints. A majority of the investment into these communities has been mismanaged. A large portion of this financial boost has stayed within the geographical barrier and not trickled out into the surrounding communities as initially intended. Has this investment from the Commonwealth changed anything or caused increased metrics in these communities? This problem has negatively affected non-gateway communities and made these once prosperous mill towns even more reliant on state funds. Turning negatives into positives, I believe the COVID-19 funding mechanism and the federal, state, and local partnership therein is the best way to re-distribute the Gateway funds to assist Massachusetts municipalities with overcoming covid and future economic and cultural developmental needs