Voice Flows To And Around Leaders: Understanding When Units Are Helped Or Hurt By Employee Voice

In two studies, we develop and test theory about the relationship between speaking up, one type of organizational citizenship behavior, and unit performance by accounting for where employee voice is flowing. Results from a qualitative study of managers and professionals across a variety of industries suggest that voice to targets at different formal power levels (peers or superiors) and locations in the organization (inside or outside a focal unit) differs systematically in terms of its usefulness in generating actions to a unit's benefit on the issues raised and in the likely information value of the ideas expressed. We then theorize how distinct voice flows should be differentially related to unit performance based on these core characteristics and test our hypotheses using time-lagged field data from 801 employees and their managers in 93 units across nine North American credit unions. Results demonstrate that voice flows are positively related to a unit's effectiveness when they are targeted at the focal leader of that unitwho should be able to take actionwhether from that leader's own subordinates or those in other units, and negatively related to a unit's effectiveness when they are targeted at coworkers who have little power to effect change. Together, these studies provide a structural framework for studying the nature and impact of multiple voice flows, some along formal reporting lines and others that reflect the informal communication structure within organizations. This research demonstrates that understanding the potential performance benefits and costs of voice for leaders and their units requires attention to the structure and complexity of multiple voice flows rather than to an undifferentiated amount of voice.Business Administratio

Doppler images and the underlying dynamo. The case of AF Leporis

The (Zeeman-)Doppler imaging studies of solar-type stars very often reveal large high-latitude spots. This also includes F stars that possess relatively shallow convection zones, indicating that the dynamo operating in these stars differs from the solar dynamo. We aim to determine whether mean-field dynamo models of late-F type dwarf stars can reproduce the surface features recovered in Doppler maps. In particular, we wish to test whether the models can reproduce the high-latitude spots observed on some F dwarfs. The photometric inversions and the surface temperature maps of AF Lep were obtained using the Occamian-approach inversion technique. Low signal-to-noise spectroscopic data were improved by applying the least-squares deconvolution method. The locations of strong magnetic flux in the stellar tachocline as well as the surface fields obtained from mean-field dynamo solutions were compared with the observed surface temperature maps. The photometric record of AF Lep reveals both long- and short-term variability. However, the current data set is too short for cycle-length estimates. From the photometry, we have determined the rotation period of the star to be 0.9660+-0.0023 days. The surface temperature maps show a dominant, but evolving, high-latitude (around +65 degrees) spot. Detailed study of the photometry reveals that sometimes the spot coverage varies only marginally over a long time, and at other times it varies rapidly. Of a suite of dynamo models, the model with a radiative interior rotating as fast as the convection zone at the equator delivered the highest compatibility with the obtained Doppler images.Comment: accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Spectroscopy of 50^{50}Sc and ab initio calculations of B(M3)B(M3) strengths

The GRIFFIN spectrometer at TRIUMF-ISAC has been used to study excited states and transitions in $^{50}$Sc following the $\beta$-decay of $^{50}$Ca. Branching ratios were determined from the measured $\gamma$-ray intensities, and angular correlations of $\gamma$ rays have been used to firmly assign the spins of excited states. The presence of an isomeric state that decays by an $M3$ transition with a $B(M3)$ strength of 13.6(7)\,W.u. has been confirmed. We compare with the first {\it ab initio} calculations of $B(M3$) strengths in light and medium-mass nuclei from the valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group approach, using consistently derived effective Hamiltonians and $M3$ operator. The experimental data are well reproduced for isoscalar $M3$ transitions when using bare $g$-factors, but the strength of isovector $M3$ transitions are found to be underestimated by an order of magnitude

A field study of team working in a new human supervisory control system

This paper presents a case study of an investigation into team behaviour in an energy distribution company. The main aim was to investigate the impact of major changes in the company on system performance, comprising human and technical elements. A socio-technical systems approach was adopted. There were main differences between the teams investigated in the study: the time of year each control room was studied (i.e. summer or winter),the stage of development each team was in (i.e. 10 months), and the team structure (i.e. hierarchical or heterarchical). In all other respects the control rooms were the same: employing the same technology and within the same organization. The main findings were: the teams studied in the winter months were engaged in more `planning’ and `awareness’ type of activities than those studies in the summer months. Newer teams seem to be engaged in more sharing of information than older teams, which maybe indicative of the development process. One of the hierarchical teams was engaged in more `system-driven’ activities than the heterarchical team studied at the same time of year. Finally, in general, the heterarchical team perceived a greater degree of team working culture than its hierarchical counterparts. This applied research project confirms findings from laboratory research and emphasizes the importance of involving ergonomics in the design of team working in human supervisory control

Individual Goal Orientations, Team Empowerment, and Employee Creative Performance: A Case of Cross-Level Interactions

Intrigued by relationship between team motivational context and individual characteristics in the organizational reality, we developed and tested a cross-level model to investigate the interactive effects of team empowerment and individual goal orientations on individual creative performance through the mediating mechanism of an individual\u27s creative self-efficacy. Using multi-wave multi-source data from 63 R&D teams in three IT companies, we found that (1) team empowerment, individual learning goal orientation, and individual performance orientation are all positively related to individual creative performance through mediation of creative self-efficacy; (2) learning orientation and performance approach orientation could both supplement the effects of team empowerment on individual creative self-efficacy. Our findings point to the importance of individual goal orientation in shaping the effects of team motivation climates and provide insights for both scholars and practitioners. The specific practical implications include but are not limited to (1) individuals with learning and performance approach orientations should be identified during hiring procedures given that they could still thrive in less empowered teams and maintain a relatively high level of creative self-efficacy and creative outcomes; (2) managers should consider assigning employees who are more learning oriented to more empowering and open-ended tasks in order to obtain better creative results

Lifetime of 19Ne*(4.03 MeV)

The Doppler-shift attenuation method was applied to measure the lifetime of the 4.03 MeV state in 19Ne. Utilizing a 3He-implanted Au foil as a target, the state was populated using the 20Ne(3He,alpha)19Ne reaction in inverse kinematics at a 20Ne beam energy of 34 MeV. De-excitation gamma rays were detected in coincidence with alpha particles. At the 1 sigma level, the lifetime was determined to be 11 +4, -3 fs and at the 95.45% confidence level the lifetime is 11 +8, -7 fs.Comment: 6 pages, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Enjoyment of Work and Driven to Work as Motivations of Job Crafting: Evidence from Japan and China

This research contributes to our understanding of job crafting by investigating the role of “enjoyment of work” and “driven to work” as job‐crafting motivations. A total of 154 supervisor–employee dyads were surveyed. Enjoyment of work and driven to work were supported as motivators of job crafting. An interaction effect was observed, with low driven to work weakening the relationship between enjoyment of work and job crafting. Job crafting mediated the relationship between the two motivators and job performance. We add to researchers’ understanding of motivations for job crafting while making the first attempt to explore the job‐crafting phenomenon in East Asia.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153247/1/jpr12239_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153247/2/jpr12239.pd

High-Precision Measurement of the 19Ne Half-Life and Implications for Right-Handed Weak Currents

We report a precise determination of the 19Ne half-life to be $T_{1/2} = 17.262 \pm 0.007$ s. This result disagrees with the most recent precision measurements and is important for placing bounds on predicted right-handed interactions that are absent in the current Standard Model. We are able to identify and disentangle two competing systematic effects that influence the accuracy of such measurements. Our findings prompt a reassessment of results from previous high-precision lifetime measurements that used similar equipment and methods.Comment: 5 pages and 5 figures. Paper accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let