Job Satisfaction and Job Performance: A Meta-Analysis

The assumption that job satisfaction and job performance are related has much intuitive appeal, despite the fact that reviewers of this literature have concluded there is no strong pervasive relation between these two variables. The present meta-analytic study demonstrates that (a) the best estimate of the true population correlation between satisfaction and performance is relatively low (.17); (b) much of the variability in results obtained in previous research has been due to the use of small sample sizes, whereas unreliable measurement of the satisfaction and performance constructs has contributed relatively little to this observed variability in correlations; and (c) nine research design characteristics of a study are only modestly related to the magnitude of the satisfaction-performance correlation that will be obtained. In view of these findings, some of the major substantive and research implications of the job satisfaction-job performance relation are discussed

Targeted Employee Retention: Performance-Based and Job-Related Differences in Reported Reasons for Staying

A content model of 12 retention factors is developed in the context of previous theory and research. Coding of open-ended responses from 24,829 employees in the leisure and hospitality industry lends support to the identified framework and reveals that job satisfaction, extrinsic rewards, constituent attachments, organizational commitment, and organizational prestige were the most frequently mentioned reasons for staying. Advancement opportunities and organizational prestige were more common reasons for staying among high performers and non-hourly workers, and extrinsic rewards was more common among low performers and hourly employees, providing support for ease/desirability of movement and psychological contract rationales. The findings highlight the importance of differentiating human resource management practices when the goal is to retain those employees valued most by the organization

Kandidatų ir vertintojų lyties įtaka sprendimo priėmimui tariamoje įdarbinimo situacijoje

Gender stereotypes have determined that the concepts of management and leadership are more associated with men than women. There are more men working in management positions than women in various countries, including Lithuania. The most widely discussed cause for that is discrimination against women in the labor market. The aim of the study was to examine evaluation differences between personnel specialists and comparison group, depending on their own and candidate‘s gender. Study was based on quasi-experimental strategy which included a hiring simulation. Participants had to evaluate potential candidates, a man and a woman, seeking for a job in management position. Data was collected from 128 people (age range - 19 to 56 years): 48 personnel specialists (M=29,38; SD=7,48), 49 women, who represented other specialties (M=26,29; SD=7,36) and 31 men, who represented other specialties (M=25,39; SD=5,05). Both personnel specialists and comparison group evaluated man and woman-candidate as similar. There were no significant differences between the two candidates on their hireability, reliability, competence, potential salary and promotability. However, results also indicate that personnel specialists and women, representing other specialties, suggested that man was more capable to work in teams than woman. The study gives an insight about the possibility of gender stereotype change.Lyčių stereotipai paprastai apsprendžia, kad vadovavimas ir lyderystė yra labiau siejami su vyrais nei moterimis. Įvairiose pasaulio šalyse, tarp jų ir Lietuvoje, mažesnė dalis moterų dirba vadovaujamose pozicijose lyginant su vyrais. Tokį skirtumą galėtų lemti daugybė priežasčių, tačiau dažniausiai aptariama - moterų diskriminacija darbo rinkoje. Pirmasis žingsnis, kurį atliekame besidarbindami, yra personalo atranka, todėl būtų galima daryti prielaidą, kad moterų diskriminacija atsiranda jau šiame etape. Šio tyrimo metu buvo naudota kvazieksperimentinė tyrimo strategija. Įdarbinimo simuliacijos metu tyrimo dalyviai (personalo specialistai ir palyginamoji grupė) turėjo vertinti potencialius kandidatus vyrą ir moterį, siekiančius įsidarbinti vadovaujamai pozicijai. Tyrimo tikslas buvo nustatyti, kaip skiriasi personalo specialistų ir palyginamosios grupės vertinimai, priklausomai nuo pačių vertintojų ir kandidato lyties, įdarbinant kandidatus vadovaujamai pozicijai. Pagrindiniame tyrime dalyvavo 128 asmenys. Nustatyta, jog tiek personalo specialistės, tiek palyginamoji grupė potencialaus kandidato vyro ir moters įdarbinimo tikimybę, patikimumą, kompetenciją, skiriamą algą bei paaukštinimo tikimybę vertino panašiai.  Rasti skirtumai tarp suvokto kandidatų gebėjimo dirbti komandoje - personalo specialistės ir kitų specialybių atstovės moterys manė, kad vyrui geriau pavyks dirbti komandoje. Tyrimo rezultatai leidžia daryti išvadą, kad lytis neturi  reikšmingos įtakos darbinantis vidutinio lygio vadovo pareigoms

Adding pieces to the puzzle: a commentary

In Jensen's theme paper she did an excellent job of outlining and explaining ways in which motor developmentalists can use the tools of biomechanics and engineering to address research questions. We extend her thorough efforts in two ways. First, we highlight the communication value provided by the precision of biomechanics terminology, and second, we reinforce the need to embed motion (the kinematics and kinetics) in context and function in order to understand the complexity of behaviour. We illustrate how one biomechanical tool, mechanical models, can facilitate this and provide insight to the development of control. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/48776/1/423_ftp.pd

Opposite Ends of the Same Stick? Multi-Method Test of the Dimensionality of Individualism and Collectivis

The construct of individualism–collectivism (IND-COL) has become the definitive standard in cross-cultural psychology, management, and related fields. It is also among the most controversial, in particular, with regard to the ambiguity of its dimensionality: Some view IND and COL as the opposites of a single continuum, whereas others argue that the two are independent constructs. We explored the issue through seven different tests using original individual-level data from 50 studies and meta-analytic data from 149 empirical publications yielding a total of 295 sample-level observations that were collected using six established instruments for assessing IND and COL as separate constructs. Results indicated that the dimensionality of IND-COL may depend on (a) the specific instrument used to collect the data, (b) the sample characteristics and the cultural region from which the data were collected, and (c) the level of analysis. We also review inconsistencies, deficiencies, and challenges of conceptualizing IND-COL and provide guidelines for developing and selecting instruments for measuring the construct, and for reporting and meta-analyzing results from this line of research

Identification of the human factors contributing to maintenance failures in a petroleum operation

Objective: This research aimed to identify the most frequently occurring human factors contributing to maintenance-related failures within a petroleum industry organization. Commonality between failures will assist in understanding reliability in maintenance processes, thereby preventing accidents in high-hazard domains. Background: Methods exist for understanding the human factors contributing to accidents. Their application in a maintenance context mainly has been advanced in aviation and nuclear power. Maintenance in the petroleum industry provides a different context for investigating the role that human factors play in influencing outcomes. It is therefore worth investigating the contributing human factors to improve our understanding of both human factors in reliability and the factors specific to this domain. Method: Detailed analyses were conducted of maintenance- related failures (N = 38) in a petroleum company using structured interviews with maintenance technicians. The interview structure was based on the Human Factor Investigation Tool (HFIT), which in turn was based on Rasmussen’s model of human malfunction .Results: A mean of 9.5 factors per incident was identified across the cases investigated. The three most frequent human factors contributing to the maintenance failures were found to be assumption (79% of cases), design and maintenance (71%), and communication (66%).Conclusion: HFIT proved to be a useful instrument for identifying the pattern of human factors that recurred most frequently in maintenance-related failures. Application: The high frequency of failures attributed to assumptions and communication demonstrated the importance of problem-solving abilities and organizational communication in a domain where maintenance personnel have a high degree of autonomy and a wide geographical distribution

Work-Unit Absenteeism: Effects of Satisfaction, Commitment, Labor Market Conditions, and Time

Prior research is limited in explaining absenteeism at the unit level and over time. We developed and tested a model of unit-level absenteeism using five waves of data collected over six years from 115 work units in a large state agency. Unit-level job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and local unemployment were modeled as time-varying predictors of absenteeism. Shared satisfaction and commitment interacted in predicting absenteeism but were not related to the rate of change in absenteeism over time. Unit-level satisfaction and commitment were more strongly related to absenteeism when units were located in areas with plentiful job alternatives

Experimentally Manipulating Items Informs on the (Limited) Construct and Criterion Validity of the Humor Styles Questionnaire

How strongly does humor (i.e., the construct-relevant content) in the Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ; Martin et al., 2003) determine the responses to this measure (i.e., construct validity)? Also, how much does humor influence the relationships of the four HSQ scales, namely affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating, with personality traits and subjective well-being (i.e., criterion validity)? The present paper answers these two questions by experimentally manipulating the 32 items of the HSQ to only (or mostly) contain humor (i.e., construct-relevant content) or to substitute the humor content with non-humorous alternatives (i.e., only assessing construct-irrelevant context). Study 1 (N = 187) showed that the HSQ affiliative scale was mainly determined by humor, self-enhancing and aggressive were determined by both humor and non-humorous context, and self-defeating was primarily determined by the context. This suggests that humor is not the primary source of the variance in three of the HQS scales, thereby limiting their construct validity. Study 2 (N = 261) showed that the relationships of the HSQ scales to the Big Five personality traits and subjective well-being (positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction) were consistently reduced (personality) or vanished (subjective well-being) when the non-humorous contexts in the HSQ items were controlled for. For the HSQ self-defeating scale, the pattern of relationships to personality was also altered, supporting an positive rather than a negative view of the humor in this humor style. The present findings thus call for a reevaluation of the role that humor plays in the HSQ (construct validity) and in the relationships to personality and well-being (criterion validity)