Multiple Approaches to Absenteeism Analysis

Absenteeism research has often been criticized for using inappropriate analysis. Characteristics of absence data, notably that it is usually truncated and skewed, violate assumptions of OLS regression; however, OLS and correlation analysis remain the dominant models of absenteeism research. This piece compares eight models that may be appropriate for analyzing absence data. Specifically, this piece discusses and uses OLS regression, OLS regression with a transformed dependent variable, the Tobit model, Poisson regression, Overdispersed Poisson regression, the Negative Binomial model, Ordinal Logistic regression, and the Ordinal Probit model. A simulation methodology is employed to determine the extent to which each model is likely to produce false positives. Simulations vary with respect to the shape of the dependent variable\u27s distribution, sample size, and the shape of the independent variables\u27 distributions. Actual data,based on a sample of 195 manufacturing employees, is used to illustrate how these models might be used to analyze a real data set. Results from the simulation suggest that, despite methodological expectations, OLS regression does not produce significantly more false positives than expected at various alpha levels. However, the Tobit and Poisson models are often shown to yield too many false positives. A number of other models yield less than the expected number of false positives, thus suggesting that they may serve well as conservative hypothesis tests

The Relative Effects of Merit Pay, Bonuses, and Long-Term Incentives on Future Job Performance (CRI 2009-009)

Extant compensation literature has indicated that pay-for-performance can influence employee performance. There is little research, however, that differentiates the effects of certain forms of pay-for-performance plans on future performance. By applying the precepts of expectancy theory to specific components of the pay-for-performance plans and using longitudinal data from a sample of 739 US employees in a service-related organization, this study demonstrates different effects for merit pay, bonuses, and long-term incentives

Validation of Expert Systems: Personal Choice Expert -- A Flexible Employee Benefit System

A method for validating expert systems, based on psychological validation literature and Turing\u27s imitation game, is applied to a flexible benefits expert system. Expert system validation entails determining if a difference exists between expert and novice decisions (construct validity), if the system uses the same inputs and processes to make its decisions as experts (content validity), and if the system produces the same results as experts (criterionrelated validity). If these criteria are satisfied, then the system is indistinguishable from experts for its domain and satisfies Turing\u27s imitation game. The methods developed in this paper are applied to a human resource expert system, Personal Choice Expert (PCE), designed to help employees choose a benefits package in a flexible benefits system. Expert and novice recommendations are compared to those generated by PCE. PCE\u27s recommendations do not significantly differ from those given by experts. High inter-expert agreement exists for some benefit recommendations (e.g. Dental Care and Long-Term Disability) but not for others (e.g. Short-Term Disability and Life Insurance). Insights offered by this method are illustrated and examined

Utility Analysis for Multiple Selection Devices and Multiple Outcomes

Traditional utility analysis only calculates the value of a given selection procedure over random selection. This assumption is not only an inaccurate representation of staffing policy but leads to overestimates of a device\u27s value. This paper generates a new utility model that accounts for multiple selection devices and multiple criteria. The model is illustrated using previous utility analysis work and an actual case of secretarial employees with eight predictors and nine criteria. A final example also is provided which includes these advancements as well as other researchers\u27 advances in a combined utility model. Results reveal that accounting for multiple criteria and outcomes dramatically reduces the utility estimates of implementing new selection devices

Out-of-Pocket Costs and the Flexible Benefits Decision: Do Employees Make Effective Health Care Choices?

This study analyzes employees\u27 ability to select health insurance benefits that fit their needs.The study analyzes both the actual choices and the implications of those choices for employees, measured as out-of-pocket costs (OPC). By introducing OPC as a measure of decision quality, this study demonstrates its advantages over measuring only employee choice. Results from a sample of manufacturing employees suggest that most employees made cost-optimizing decisions, out-performing recommendations from a linear model. Employees also were financially better off overall with choice than they would have been had they all been placed into either medical plan option available to them. This study supports the value of choice, but does not support the assertion that employees always make benefits decisions that best fit their needs

Price Sensitivity in Employee Health Care Choices: The Utility of Out-Of-Pocket Costs and Risk Aversion

Using data from both company records and an insurance provider, the authors develop a direct measure of out-of-pocket costs incurred by employees choosing a health care plan. Previous studies have used characteristics of medical plans and demographic variables as proxies for OPC. By better specifying the consequences of the health care choice, the authors show how the demand for health plans is kinked in a manner consistent with risk aversion. The results suggest that using the proposed OPC measure can help practitioners and researchers better understand and predict the pattern of employee health care benefit choices

The Effects of Variable Work Arrangements on the Organizational Commitment of Contingent Workers

Drawing on social exchange theory and research on organizational commitment, we developed a model of contingent workers’ commitment to two foci: their hiring agencies and the organizations to which they have been assigned. Hypotheses were tested using survey data from 197 contingent workers. We found that commitment to the hiring agency was positively related to pay satisfaction and perceived organizational support from the agency. Commitment to the client organization was positively related to perceived organizational support from the client, co-worker relations, and job satisfaction. Preference for contingent work exhibited a positive relationship with pay and job satisfaction. Holding job and pay satisfaction constant, we found that commitment was negatively related to preference for contingent work. Of the factors studied, perceived organizational support exhibited the largest effect. Implications for theory and practice are discussed

A Call for Special-focus Issues

[Excerpt] In our efforts to deliver high-quality content to our audience, Cornell Quarterly usually publishes articles on a variety of topics. We seek not only to cover issues in depth, but we try to ensure that our issues include a variety of content areas (e.g., marketing, strategy, human resources, operations, finance). Most issues of the journal, like this one, cover diverse topics, but we sometimes publish special-focus editions that carry several articles on a specific theme (e.g., the October 2001 Cornell Quarterly focused on hospitality law). The purpose of this editorial is to call for ideas for future special-focus issues. Specifically, I want to solicit proposals from our readers and potential authors for specific themes that they would like to see addressed in future Cornell Quarterly issues

The Past, Present, and Future of Dynamic Performance Research

This article reviews the extensive history of dynamic performance research, with the goal of providing a clear picture of where the field has been, where it is now, and where it needs to go. Past research has established that job performance does indeed change, but the implications of this dynamism and the predictability of performance trends remain unresolved. Theories are available to help explain dynamic performance, and although far from providing an unambiguous understanding of the phenomenon, they offer direction for future theoretical development. Dynamic performance research does suffer from a number of methodological difficulties, but new techniques have emerged that present even more opportunities to advance knowledge in this area. From this review, I propose research questions to bridge the theoretical and methodological gaps of this area. Answering these questions can advance both research involving job performance prediction and our understanding of the effects of human resource interventions

Two New Changes to the Reviewing Process

[Excerpt] I am using this issue\u27s editorial to describe some of the changes I have made to the review process for the Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly. I have come to the decision to make these changes based on feedback I have received from my editorial board, comments from authors, letters and phone calls from readers, and remarks made by my colleagues here at the Hotel School at Cornell. While, like any editor, I constantly reevaluate the way articles go through the submission process, the nature of the changes I am making do merit some particular mention. All of these changes went into effect in the beginning of 2004