Justice and trust as antecedents of careerist orientation

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the antecedents of careerist orientations to work. Hypotheses are drawn from referent cognitions theory. First, it is proposed that trust mediates the relationship between an individual's perceptions of procedural justice and their careerist orientations to work. Second, perceptions of distributive justice, regarding the allocation of career development opportunities, will moderate the relationship between trust and careerist orientations to work. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 325 employees of a large UK financial institution completed a structured questionnaire. Regression analysis (using SPSS version 11) was used to test the presented hypotheses. Findings – All hypotheses were confirmed. However, the interaction effect observed was different from that hypothesised. It appears that trust only matters, in terms of the development of careerist orientations to work, when individuals feel that they are receiving equitable career development opportunities. Research limitations/implications – Much more research is required in different organisational contexts if one is to fully confirm and understand these relationships. However, these findings suggest that employers will only reduce the development of careerist attitudes in their workforce if they ensure the fair distribution of career development opportunities and engender trusting relations through the implementation of fair decision-making procedures. Originality/value – This paper adds much needed empirical research to the literature on new career realities and careerist orientations to work. Moreover, referent cognitions theory is presented as a new theoretical framework for understanding the cognitive processes involved in an individual's development of careerist attitudes

Bullying Roles in Changing Contexts: The Stability of Victim and Bully Roles from Primary to Secondary School

The present study was conducted to predict bullying roles over a six years time period and across contexts differing in the degree of peer hierarchies. Out of two representative data sets from primary (N = 1525) and secondary school (N = 2958), 282 children (156 boys; 126 girls) were followed up longitudinally. Self reports on bullying experiences and peer reports about social status were assessed by a structured individual interview (in primary school) and by questionnaire given classwise (in secondary school). Risk analyses showed, that only a bully role in primary school yields a risk to be sustained in secondary school. However, victims in primary school classes with a more pronounced degree of hierarchical structuring proved stable in their role while the victim role was unstable from primary school classes with low hierarchical structuring. This interaction did not apply to bully role stability. Differential characteristics of the victim and the bully role in primary school and secondary school settings are discussed.Die vorliegende Untersuchung wurde durchgeführt, um Bullyingrollen über einen Zeitraum von sechs Jahren und Kontexte, die sich im Ausmaß der sozialen Strukturierung unterschieden, vorherzusagen. Auf der Grundlage von zwei repräsentativen Datensätzen aus der Grundschule (n= 1525) und der weiterführenden Schule (N= 2958) wurden dazu die Daten von 282 Kinder (156 Jungen, 126 Mädchen) längsschnittlich analysiert. Die Selbstberichte über Bullyingerfahrungen und Mitschülerberichte über den sozialen Status der Kinder wurden in der Grundschule durch ein strukturiertes Interview und in der weiterführenden Schule durch klassenweise Fragebogenerhebung erfasst. Riskikoanalysen zeigen, dass nur die Täterrolle in der Grundschule einen Risikofaktor für eine Täterrolle in der weiterführenden Schule darstellt. Eine Opferrolle war hingegen nur dann stabil, wenn die Opfer in Grundschulklassen mit schon ausgeprägten Dominanzstrukturen viktimisiert wurden, während aus Grundschulklassen mit geringer hierarchischer Strukturierung keine stabile Opferrolle vorhersagbar war. Dieses Interaktionmuster gilt nicht für die Stabilität der Täterrollen. Differentielle Charakteristika der Opferrolle und der Täterrolle in der Grundschule und der weiterführenden Schule werden diskutiert

Utility of Multilocus Genotypes for Taxon Assignment in Stands of Closely Related European White Oaks from Switzerland

Background and Aims European white oaks (Quercus petraea, Q. pubescens, Q. robur) have long puzzled plant biologists owing to disputed species differentiation. Extensive hybridization or shared ancestry have been proposed as alternative hypotheses to explain why genetic differentiation between these oak species is low. Species delimitation is usually weak and often shows gradual transitions in leaf morphology. Hence, individual identification may be difficult, but remains a critical step for both scientific work and practical management. Methods Multilocus genotype data (five nuclear microsatellites) were used from ten Swiss oak stands for taxon identification without a priori grouping of individuals or populations, using model-based Bayesian assignment tests. Key Results Three groups best structured the data, indicating that the taxonomical signal was stronger than the spatial signal. Most individuals showed high posterior probabilities for either of three genetic groups that were best circumscribed as taxonomical units. The assignment of a subset of trees, whose taxonomic status had been previously characterized in detail, supported this classification scheme. Conclusions Molecular-genetic assignment tests are useful in the identification of species status in critical taxon complexes such as the European white oaks. Such an approach is of practical importance for forest management, e.g. for stand certification or in seed trade to trace the origin of forest product

Does an adequate team climate for learning predict team effectiveness and innovation potential? A psychometric validation of the Team Climate questionnaire for Learning in an organizational context

This paper reports the application and psychometric validation of a multi-dimensional measure of team climate for learning in a multinational organization. The research project aimed at extending previous findings at Aston Business School, using the English 33-item version of Brodbeck's Team Climate questionnaire for Learning to assess the factors that facilitate team learning in a business context and analyze its relationship to group performance, support for innovation and different effectiveness criteria chosen by the organization we cooperated with. Data concerning the TCL, the level of group development as a related process, and measures of group performance, innovation and effectiveness were gathered from 119 participants belonging to 18 work groups of the organization's headquarters and three subsidiaries in Germany, Switzerland and Belgium. The undertaken studies were carried out using a cross-sectional and correlated design. The assessment tool proved to have good psychometric properties, providing an adequate reliability, validity and power of prediction regarding team performance (R² = .81), support for innovation (R² = .69) and team effectiveness (e.g. R² = .59 as regards to the keeping of deadlines). Potential benefits derived from the application of the presented measure, limitations of the current research project and future perspectives are discussed

Being on the same page about social rules and norms: Effects of shared relational models on cooperation in work teams

In working teams, each member has an individual understanding of the social rules and norms that underlie social relationships in the team, as well as about what behavior is appropriate and what behavior can be expected from others. What happens if the members of a team are not “on the same page” with respect to these social rules and norms? Drawing on relational models theory, which posits four elemental relational models that people use to coordinate their social interactions, we examined the effects of a common understanding of relational models in teams (i.e., “shared relational models”) on various aspects of cooperative and uncooperative behaviors. We hypothesized that a shared understanding of relational models in a team is positively related to justice perception and negatively related to relationship conflict, which are in turn related to helping behavior and knowledge hiding. We conducted a field study, collecting data from 46 work teams (N = 189 total participants) in various organizations, and found support for all proposed hypotheses. Our findings emphasize the importance of a shared understanding of relational models for (un)cooperative behavior in teams, thereby opening a new door for research on relational models in organizations

Social validation in group decision making: differential effects on the decisional impact of preference-consistent and preference-inconsistent information

"Shared information has a stronger impact on group decisions than unshared information. A prominent explanation for this phenomenon is that shared information can be socially validated during group discussion and, hence, is perceived as more accurate and relevant than unshared information. In the present study we argue that this explanation only holds for preference-inconsistent information (i.e., information contradicting the group members’ initial preferences) but not for preference-consistent information. In Experiments 1 and 2 participants studied the protocol of a fictitious group discussion. In this protocol, we manipulated which types of information were socially validated. As predicted, social validation increased the decisional impact of preference-inconsistent but not preference-consistent information. In both experiments the effect of social validation was mediated by the perceived quality of information. Experiment 3 replicated the results of the first two experiments in an interactive setting in which two confederates discussed a decision case face-to-face with one participant." [author's abstract

Shedding Light on Team Adaptation: Does Experience Matter?

Investigating the team adaptation process in two laboratory experiments (N = 144 teams, n = 504 participants), we found no benefits for teams with team adaptation experience (vs. without) nor for teams with external team adaptation experience (vs. with internal experience). Collective experience under routine and nonroutine conditions seems to provide teams with the resources to adapt. We further found that executing the team adaptation process did not always lead to high team performance; different team performance requirements might explain these findings. We discuss how our experimental findings can extend our understanding of team adaptation toward new boundary conditions

Sind Sie mein Führungstyp? Entwicklung und Validierung zweier Instrumente zur Erfassung von Führungskraft-Kategorisierung auf der Basis von impliziten Führungstheorien

"Derzeitige Ansätze der Führungsforschung deuten darauf hin, dass die generellen Vorstellungen der Mitarbeiter über Führungskräfte und Führungsprozesse maßgeblich bestimmen wie diese auf ihre tatsächlichen Führungskräfte im Alltag reagieren. Die zur Analyse dieses Prozesses zur Verfügung stehenden Instrumente sind bisher jedoch für die Forschung hierzulande wenig geeignet. Im vorliegenden Artikel werden zwei effiziente und für deutsche Organisationsforschung adäquatere Instrumente zur Erfassung von Führungskraft-Kategorisierung vorgestellt. Zum einen wurde ein Messinstrument auf der Basis einer Reanalyse des deutschen GLOBE Datensatzes mit 471 Führungskräften entwickelt, zum anderen wurde ein piktorales Messinstrument für selbigen Kontext adaptiert. Eine Untersuchung in einem Unternehmen (N = 104) bestätigt die konvergente wie auch die Kriteriumsvalidität der beiden Instrumente sowie die Anwendbarkeit zur Aufklärung abhängiger Maße wie etwa der personalen Identifikation mit der Führungskraft sowie affektivem Commitment und Respekt dieser gegenüber. Eine weitere Studie (N = 524) repliziert diese Ergebnisse an einer heterogenen Arbeitnehmerstichprobe. Die zukünftigen Anwendungsmöglichkeiten beider Instrumente werden diskutiert."[Autorenreferat]"Current approaches in leadership research suggest that subordinates’ general images of leaders and the leadership process determine how they will eventually react towards their actual leaders. Yet, so far, the underlying leader prototype scales which can be used to measure this process do not seem suitable for organizational research in Germany. The present article thus presents two more efficient and for organizational research in Germany more adequate instruments to measure leader categorization processes. We developed one scale based upon a reanalysis of the German GLOBE dataset with 471 leaders, and another scale by adapting a pictorial Venn-diagram measurement. In a first organizational study (N = 104), we confirm the convergent and criterion validity of both instruments and further demonstrate how they can be used to explain dependent measures such as subordinates’ personal identification with and their affective commitment towards leaders as well as their respect for their leaders. Another study among a more heterogeneous sample of employees (N = 524) replicated the results. The future possibilities for the application of both scales are discussed."[author´s abstract

BPMN+I to support decision making in innovation management for automated production systems including technological, multi team and organizational aspects

A joined interdisciplinary approach from systems engineering, organizational sociology and psychology is introduced using an enriched Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN+I) based modeling approach to support decision making on a management level for both mid-term decisions such as in-/outsourcing and short-term decisions such as fixing a weakness on site during start-up of a plant abroad or involving the design offices. This approach focusses on the actual collaboration between interdisciplinary teams within an organizational context by enriching BPMN with checklists applicable to all interfaces along the projects’ workflow. Our contribution aims at supporting innovation management for automated Production Systems which depends on successful interdisciplinary collaboration

Genetic underpinning of historical afforestation with allochthonous Pinus cembra in the northwestern Swiss Alps

Throughout the last centuries, the structure and genetic composition of forests have been strongly affected by forest management. Over 30% of European forests are artificially regenerated, very often using translocated forest reproductive material, among these species the Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembra L.). In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the species was largely used for artificial afforestation in the northern Alps. However, only a few planted trees have survived. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate if the historical afforestation of P. cembra in the northwestern Swiss Alps relied on allochthonous material. We sampled 12 sites, genotyping 11 nuclear microsatellites, to infer the spatial genetic structure of regional populations, to test for genetic differences between natural and planted stands, and to infer potential source regions of planted stands using reference samples covering the entire Alps. Population genetic structure analysis allowed us to distinguish planted from natural stands and to determine that forest reproductive material used for plantations was not of regional origin. We found similar levels of genetic diversity between natural and planted stands. Assignment tests revealed that reproductive material for planting was translocated to the study area from two source regions, i.e., near the border of Switzerland and Austria, and further to the East, between Austria and Italy. Our study shows how genetic tools may inform about historical transfer of forest reproductive material, which still may affect the population genetic make-up of regional occurrences, e.g., because of reduced natural regeneration