Social comparisons and organizational support : implications for commitment and retention

Organizational support theory (OST) suggests that employees develop a general perception of the extent to which the organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being (perceived organizational support – POS), and respond to that support through attitudes and behaviors that are beneficial toward the organization. Although OST emphasizes both social exchange and self-enhancement processes, most accounts of POS’s effects are rooted in social exchange. For example, POS’s linkages with commitment and retention have been explained as an exchange of support for positive attitudes and continued employment. This research sheds light on self-enhancement’s less-understood role in fostering these reactions by demonstrating the influence of social comparison effects. Drawing on a sample of 342 employees nested in 82 work-units of a US hospitality company, our analysis demonstrates that favorable POS comparisons with peers in one’s work-unit are positively associated with commitment and retention, whereas unfavorable comparisons are negatively related. Results also show that comparisons taking place in less-supported work-units have stronger impact than comparisons made in those with better support. Our findings extend OST by revealing the importance of social comparisons in engendering responses to organizational support, and in so doing potentially explicate the differential ways social exchange and self-enhancement operate with regard to POS

An examination of the effects of self-regulatory focus on the perception of the media richness: the case of email

Communication is a key element in organizations’ business success. The media richness theory and the channel expansion theory are two of the most influential theories regarding the selection and use of communication media in organizations; however, literature has focused little on the effects of self-regulation by managers and employees in these theories. To analyze these topics, this study develops an empirical investigation by gathering data from 600 managers and employees using a questionnaire. The results suggest that the perception of media richness is positively affected when the individual shows a promotion focus or strategy.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft

Research Methodologies and Business Discourse Teaching

This chapter will:; ; ; Define English for specific purposes and indicate the specific ways in which it has been influential on business discourse teaching;; ; ; Discuss the most relevant approaches to genre analysis that have been used in business discourse teaching;; ; ; Explore the most relevant approaches to critical discourse analysis and organizational rhetoric for business discourse teaching;; ; ; Identify the most relevant aspects of multimodal discourse analysis for business discourse teaching;; ; ; Provide a case study that illustrates the use of one approach to business discourse teaching, showing how practitioners can incorporate it into their classroom- or consultancy-based ideas

The complexity of richness : media, message, and communication outcomes

Purpose - To examine the factor structure of the richness construct in communication media and understand the nature of the relationships between media, communication outcomes and richness. Design/methodology/approach - A review of the literature of the concept of media richness is presented to provide the basis for a series of hypotheses relating receivers' perceptions of media richness, communication effectiveness, and communication satisfaction with media type, and message characteristics. Reports the results of 3 x 2 x 2 design experiments based on US Navy recruiting advertisements, varying media type (text, audio, audiovisual), message content (subjective, instrumental), and message length, and with 688 subjects drawn from undergraduate business students at an unnamed university in the Southeast USA. Explains that the students were required to view the advertisements and consider the Navy as a possible career choice. Findings - The results indicated that: the concept of richness may be too abstract, with media effects being conceptualized better in fine-grained constructs (symbolism, social presence, personal focus, information overload); that media type had significant but weak direct effects on symbolism, social presence, personal focus, and information overload, and with media type being more strongly associated with satisfaction. Concludes that the finding that media type is more strongly associated with satisfaction and effectiveness than with symbolism, social presence, personal focus, and information overload is puzzling and may suggest that key predictors were not included in the study. Research limitations/implications - The research was limited by the fact that the two dimensions of media richness (feedback, language variety) were not captured. Originality/value - Extends the media richness and communication research by moving from an intensely social organizational context to one in which some of the participants are less familiar with the organization's norms and values

Impact of computer-mediated communication media characteristics on information acquisition, attitude favorability, and intentions toward joining the Navy

Web site design involves anticipating and understanding receivers' reactions to various web site attributes and using this information to make web Sites more useful and satisfying for them. The study assessed objective and subjective characteristics via surveys of information technology experts and non-experts. Results from the study demonstrated associations between web Site attributes and user reactions in at least two ways. First, results demonstrate the importance of message content and form in explaining variance in perceived usefulness and perceived ease-of-use constructs. Second, the results indicate that experts and non-experts differ in their perceptions, overall evaluations, and satisfaction with web sites

Soils of the Pampean Region

Pampean landscapes are characterized by the presence ofextensive plains originally covered by grasslands. At present,rainfed production of cereal and oil crops is the maineconomic farming activity of the region and constitutes ahigh proportion of Argentina exports. The most fertile soilsof Argentina are located in this region. They are Mollisols(mainly Argiudolls and Hapludolls), the most important andwidespread soil order in the region. Argiudolls are usuallyvery deep and show a complex profile, with highlydifferentiated horizons. Hapludolls have simpler profileswith surface layers occupied by coarser deposits. LocalMollisols were developed from loessic materials of predominantlysilty granulometry, with some involvement of sand,leading to very favourable natural soil physical conditionsfor crop growth. Other conspicuous soil orders are Entisolsand Alfisols. In this chapter, soil genesis and major soil typesare described and four subregions were considered: Northern,Western, Southern and Flooding Pampa.Fil: Rubio, Gerardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biociencias Agrícolas y Ambientales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biociencias Agrícolas y Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Pereira, Fernando X.. Secretaría de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino; ArgentinaFil: Taboada, Miguel Angel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación de Recursos Naturales. Instituto de Suelos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin