Parental Leave of Absence: Some Not So Family Friendly Implications

This experiment examined the effects of ratee gender, type of leave of absence, and level of performance on perceptions of organizational commitment, work commitment, family commitment, and recommendations for organizational rewards. The proposed 3-way interactions between gender, type of leave of absence, and performance level were not supported; however, main effects and 2-way interactions were revealed. Moreover, perceived organizational commitment and work commitment were found to moderate the relationship between performance level and reward recommendations. The findings also indicated that men who were depicted as taking a leave of absence from work for parental reasons were less likely to be recommended for rewards than were males who had not taken a leave of absence

Attitudes of Managers Who Are More or Less Career Plateaued

This study investigated demographic and attitudinal differences across managers classified as nonplateaued, content plateaued, hierarchically plateaued, or both content and hierarchically plateaued. The results revealed significant demographic differences across the 4 groups on a variety of variables. Managers who were classified as both hierarchically and job content plateaued tended to report less favorable job attitudes than managers who were plateaued for one reason only or managers who were nonplateaued. Managers who were only job content plateaued tended to report less favorable job attitudes than managers who were only hierarchically plateaued

Effects of Gender and Leave of Absence on Attributions for High Performance, Perceived Organizational Commitment, and Allocation of Organizational Rewards

The present study examined the effects of gender and type of leave of absence on attributions for high performance, perceptions of organizational commitment, and allocation of organizational rewards. Results of the study, utilizing a predominately white student sample with a mean age of 29 years, indicated that there were no negative effects in terms of perceived organizational commitment or allocation of organizational rewards associated with a leave of absence (medical or parental) of short duration (three months) when taken by a high performing male or female. Causal attributions for performance and perceived level of organizational commitment were, however, related to recommendations of reward allocations. Implications of findings and future research are presented

Ratings of Organizational Citizenship Behavior: Does the Source Make a Difference?

This study compared multiple ratings of the organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) of managers obtained from three different sources: self, superiors, and subordinates. The results examining convergence across sources demonstrated that there were stronger correlations between ratings made by others (subordinates and superiors) than between ratings made by self and others. The results also indicated that there were mean level differences in ratings across sources. Specifically, ratings made by self and superiors were higher than were ratings made by subordinates. The results examining convergence within sources suggested that the reliability of OCB ratings based on a single rater were quite low; however, reliability increased considerably when aggregating raters. Future research and implications are discussed

A Field Study of Factors Related to Supervisors\u27 Willingness to Mentor Others

Factors thought to be related to intention to mentor and perceived barriers to mentoring (i.e., willingness to mentor) were examined among 607 state government supervisors. Previous experience as a mentor, previous experience as a protégé, education level, and quality of relationship with supervisor were related to willingness to mentor others. Additionally, age, locus of control, and upward striving were related to supervisors’ intention to mentor others, but not to their perceptions of barriers to mentoring others. Job-induced tension was related to perceived barriers to mentoring, but not to intention to mentor others. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are presented

Survivor Reactions to Organizational Downsizing: Does Time Ease the Pain?

The present study used work role transitions theory as a guiding framework for examining changes in survivors\u27 attitudes following an organizational downsizing. A total of 106 managers experiencing a downsizing provided data regarding organizational commitment, turnover intentions, job involvement, role clarity, role overload, satisfaction with top management, and satisfaction with job security at three different times. Although the results generally indicated that downsizing had a significant impact on work attitudes, that the impact varied over time, and that the initial impact was generally negative; different patterns of results among the job attitudes studied were also observed. For example, satisfaction with top management increased across time, while job involvement decreased. Findings also indicated that changes in role clarity, role overload, satisfaction with top management, and satisfaction with job security were significantly related to changes in organizational commitment and turnover intentions. Changes in job involvement also moderated several relationships such that there was a stronger relationship between the independent variable and the outcome variable when job involvement was higher than when job involvement was lower. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed

Newcomer Socialization and Stress: Formal Peer Relationships as a Source of Support

The present study examined formal peer developmental relationships within a graduate academic setting. Specifically, the relations between short-term mentoring provided by more experienced peers, multiple aspects of socialization, and stress were investigated. Data were collected from first-year MBA students working in teams which were formally assigned to second-year MBA peer mentors. Results indicated that the psychosocial mentoring provided by peers related positively to politics and performance aspects of socialization, while career-related mentoring related positively to the aspect of socialization that deals with the establishment of successful and satisfying relationships with organizational members. Both mentoring functions were positively related to the amount of help in coping with stress that respondents indicated their mentors provided. Further, mentoring was related to overall socialization, and overall socialization was related to work-induced stress; however, socialization did not mediate the relationship between mentoring and work-induced stress. The results underscore the valuable role that more experienced peers can serve in mentoring newcomers and enhancing socialization. The results also provide empirical support for expanding conventional views regarding the network of viable mentoring relationships