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Κύρια The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Management and Encyclopedic Dictionaries, The Blackwell Encyclopedic Dictionary..
The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Management and Encyclopedic Dictionaries, The Blackwell Encyclopedic Dictionary of Organizational BehaviorNigel Nicholson
Containing 425 entries from over 180 leading authorities in the field, this dictionary provides clear, concise and informative definitions and explanations of key concepts and issues, with an emphasis on current and developing trends. With its comprehensive coverage, this dictionary is destined to become the standard reference work for teachers, practitioners and researchers.
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Document Page i The Blackwell Encyclopedic Dictionary of Organizational Behavior file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_I.html [2008-04-01 01:24:23] Document Page ii THE BLACKWELL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MANAGEMENT About the Editors Cary L. Cooper is Professor of Organizational Psychology in the Manchester School of Management at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. He was the Founding President of the British Academy of Management and served as its president for four years. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and is the editor-in-chief of the international quarterly journal The Journal of Organizational Behavior. He is the author of numerous books and scholarly articles in the fields of organizational behavior, and has been an adviser to two UN Agencies (The World Health Organization and The International Labor Office). Chris Argyris is the James B. Conant Professor, Graduate School of Business, Harvard University. He is the author of thirty books and research monographs as well as numerous articles. He is a consultant to many corporations, governmental organizations, and universities in the United States and Europe. Professor Argyris, who received his Ph.D. from Cornell University, is the holder of six honorary degrees. file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_II.html [2008-04-01 01:24:23] Document Page iii The Blackwell Encyclopedic Dictionary of Organizational Behavior Edited by Nigel Nicholson Advisory Editors Randall S. Schuler Andrew H. Van de Ven file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_III.html [2008-04-01 01:24:24] Document Page iv Disclaimer: Some images in the original version of this book are not available for inclusion in the netLibrary eBook. Copyright © Blackwell Publishers Ltd 1995, 1998 Editorial organization © Nigel Nicholson 1995, 1998 First published 1995 Revised edition first published in paperback 1998 Blackwell Publishers Inc 350 Main Street Malden, Massachusetts 02148, USA Blackwell Publishers Ltd 108 Cowley Road Oxford OX4 1JF, UK All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data The Blackwell encyclopedic dictionary of organizational behavior/ edited by Nigel Nicholson; advisory editors, Randall Schuler, Andrew Van de Ven. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–631–18781–2 ISBN 0–631–20910–7 (Pbk) I. Organizational behaviorDictionaries. I. Nicholson, Nigel. II. Schuler, Randall S. III. Van de Ven, Andrew H. IV. Blackwell Publishers. V. Title: Encyclopedic dictionary of organizational behavior. HD58.7.B57 1995 95–5490 302.3'5'03dc20 CIP British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_IV.html (1 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:25] Document Typeset in 9.5 on 11pt Ehrhardt by Page Brothers, Norwich Printed and bound in Great Britain by T. J. International Limited, Padstow, Cornwall This book is printed on acid-free paper file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_IV.html (2 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:25] Document Page v Contents Preface vi Acknowledgements xi List of Contributors xiii Dictionary Entries A–Z Index file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_V.html [2008-04-01 01:24:25] 1 613 Document Page vi Preface Organizational Behavior – Coming of Age Organizational Behavior (OB) is the study of human action and experience in organizational contexts, and the behavior of organizations within their environmental contexts. The subject takes as its starting point the idea that organizations are human creations. This means that what they generate in terms of varieties of experience, social value and practical consequences are matters of choice – choice which can be informed by knowledge and ideas. This definition implies that much of what we prize most dearly about our ways of living, and also what we most abhor, are created or conditioned by Organizational Behavior. The Great Wall of China, the Nazi holocaust, the Gobelin tapestries, the automobile, every major war, disaster relief effort, all the religions of the world, and the welfare, transportation and communication systems of society, and much more besides are the product of organization and behavior. At the level of personal experience, it is also true that many of the greatest achievements and failings of individuals can be traced to the liberating or oppressive effects of organizational structures and relationships. This is not a new insight. From the earliest oral traditions of reflective inquiry to the modern social sciences, people have pondered upon how we should organize to live – to fulfill human potential in harmony with each other and with the living planet which sustains us. Plato, Confucius, the authors of the Talmud, the Gospels, the Bhagavad Gita and the Koran, all, in different ways, sought to answer this question by explaining and prescribing secular human relations, but within frameworks which pronounce about spirituality and the meaning of existence. For much of our history this metaphysical legacy has inhibited the search for insights about human organization through systematic methods of inquiry, in contrast to the relatively liberated growth of other bodies of knowledge, such as the natural sciences. Normative social philosophies have often discouraged and sometimes punished the separation of the empirical from the doctrinal when it came to thinking about human conduct (an effect not exclusive to self-declared religions; Marxist-Leninist orthodoxy has also exhibited this character where it has held sway). file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_VI.html (1 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:26] Document For this reason, the applied social sciences are relatively new. It has only been in the last hundred years that they have found institutional legitimacy for their pedagogy, empirical research, dissemination and practice. Within this volume, the reader will find reference made to the historical cornerstones of OB as we find it presently constituted: writings at the turn of the century by psychologists about human capacities in work environments, by sociologists about the consequences of industrial organization, and by administrative theorists about the tasks of management. But The Blackwell Encyclopedic Dictionary of Organizational Behavior is not a history book. Contributors are reaching towards the future as much as reflecting on the past, and our collective aim has been to provide a contemporary atlas of the field, its key ideas, its major findings, and their implications. Over 180 worldwide experts have provided definitive statements about these developments. The maturity of the field can be seen in the confidence and authority with which they have set about their task. Demonstrably, OB come of age. Indeed, this book would not have been possible even a few years ago, such has been the explosion in knowledge and activity within the field. The interest and enthusiasm this project has raised among file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_VI.html (2 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:26] Document Page vii all who have shared in its creation also owes to the fact that OB's interests have never been more important than at the present time. We are moving into an age of increasing uncertainty and choice about how we organize and work. These developments are extensively documented in this book. Although the nature of work and organization, as defined above, are matters of choice, those decisions have in the past often been heavily constrained by prior choices about technologies and institutional forms. This has often cast OB scholars in the role of powerless observers or critical commentators on the dysfunctions of organization, such as monotonous work, autocratic management, interpersonal and intergroup conflict and inefficient production. The disciplines of engineering and finance have tended to set the organizational agenda, with SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT1 as their operational paradigm, leaving PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT to pick up the pieces, i.e. deal with the human consequences of operational imperatives. This industrial order is being dismembered before our eyes, as a function of several developments. First, there is a vast increase in the complexity of technical and financial problems in business, and complexity means choice. Second, new business disciplines such as marketing and strategy have raised awareness of the need to satisfy multiple STAKEHOLDERS, and the inherently open-ended nature of this challenge. This implies for organizations the need to be proactive as well as responsive in their DECISION MAKING about market positioning, resourcing and external relationships. Third, competitive pressures, intercultural exchange, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, regulatory pressures, and demographic developments in LABOR MARKETS are having the simultaneous effect of increasing the diversity of organizational forms visible in society and making apparent the implausibility of "one best way" solutions to the problems of managing. Fourth, the human and material costs of poorly designed jobs, unskilled management practices, and ill-conceived ways of organizing and communicating, are being laid bare, not just as a result of pressures to reduce costs, but also through a growing awareness that the satisfaction of human needs and values is essential to firms' ability to rise above the mediocre in the quality of their products and services. Fifth, and finally, all of this implies change, often on a profound scale. Throughout organizations of all kinds and among people at all levels, one finds a primary and urgent desire to know how best to manage change, and to understand what factors help or hinder human adaptive processes. As a result of these recent developments, we are now witnessing the curious irony that ideas with a long pedigree of vigorous promotion in scholarly articles but almost universal neglect in business practice, have suddenly become prime concerns to managers. COMPETITIVENESS is newly perceived as linked with long-familiar concepts such as JOB ENRICHMENT, SELF-MANAGEMENT, PARTICIPATION, LEADERSHIP STYLE, TEAMBUILDING, DECENTRALIZATION, ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE and STRATEGIC CHOICE. OB is now in demand as never before, from individual managers struggling to make sense of their experience and take charge of their careers, to business leaders realizing that competitive success means drawing creatively upon their prime asset – human adaptability, tacit knowledge and talent. How to Use This Book file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_VII.html (1 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:27] Document This Encyclopedic Dictionary is a reference work but its entries give much more than definitions. Some 500 essays by over 180 leading authorities provide definitive statements of current knowledge and thinking about all the key concepts and ideas of OB. Entries vary in length according to the significance or specificity of a term, but most are 500–1000 words long, and follow a format which includes the following elements: definition – state of knowledge – current significance – future trends & applications This is designed to be especially useful to people new to the field, cutting through the jargon barrier with clear, concise and informative explanations of key concepts and issues, with an emphasis on 1 Words set in small capital letters are entry cross-references, i.e. they are the titles or "headwords" for substantive entries to be found in this volume. file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_VII.html (2 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:27] Document Page viii current and developing trends. These qualities are also intended to make the book a valuable resource for educators, graduate students, researchers, practising managers and any other inquiring minds. The format of the volume means it can be used in many ways – it is an almost-infinite matrix. Because entries are substantive essays, and each contains multiple cross-references (terms set in capitals in the text, plus additional cross-references at the end of each entry), any number of entries may form a continuous and developing chain or program of reading. This makes the volume ideal for executive, short-course reading, core MBA modules, other programs, or just personal exploration of related themes. Since each entry provides key references and further reading on topics, it can also be seen as 500 gateways into specialist areas for students and educators. The Subject Index at the end of the volume is designed to help reader searches. (Entry headwords are marked in bold). Possibilities for usage are further extended by the wide coverage of the volume. The field as represented here is much broader than is to be found in the curriculum of a single OB course, and has been defined to embrace the broadest interests of writers on organizations. In addition to core OB issues it encompasses key topics in HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT, BUSINESS ETHICS, INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT, ORGANIZATION THEORY and STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT. Since the volume is committed to reporting what is known at the leading edge of the field, we are also committed to regular future editions of The Encyclopedic Dictionary. Readers can help us here. We would be pleased to hear from you, what topics you would like to see included in future editions, and what trends that you detect in the field which should be represented. The Field as Represented by the Dictionary The reader's first impression on leafing through the contents of this volume may be the enormous breadth of the interests of OB scholars and practitioners. Even similar sounding headwords (entry titles) have widely diverging contents – see, for example, the quite different ideas described under LEARNING ORGANIZATION and ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING. This diversity comes from four dimensions: level of analysis, domain, pedigree, and controversy. Level of Analysis (See Levels of Analysis) file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_VIII.html (1 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:28] Document Within OB it is common for scholars to describe themselves or each other as working at a micro or macro level, though in reality this represents a continuum of interacting themes from individual experience and behavior (see INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES), through group and intergroup functioning (see GROUP DYNAMICS; WORK GROUPS), to the characteristics and behaviors of organizations as units of analysis (see ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN; STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT). Many entries have an even wider focus, such as the nature of OCCUPATIONS, the POPULATION ECOLOGY of firms within sectors, and the effects of CULTURE on organizations. The chosen focus of a scholar's interest can often be traced to their academic origins – psychologists at the individual level, social psychologists at the group level, sociologists at the organizational level, and anthropologists and economists at the societal level. Yet this academic division of labor is weakening as a result of two developments. First, as OB becomes more instituted as a defined subject area (mainly in business education) scholars have become increasingly aware of work outside their original disciplinary specialism and its relevance to their interests. Within specialist university departments, social scientists studying organizations may still call themselves I/O (Industrial/Organizational) Psychologists or Organizational Sociologists, but in interdisciplinary contexts, such as business schools, these labels become less useful as circumscribing and understanding the breadth of OB scholars' interests. Second, the problems which OB seeks to address, as presented by the business environment, do not come neatly wrapped in discipline-shaped parcels. To understand individual behavior or performance in an organization requires a developed sense of contextualism, i.e. an understanding of the nature of the "macro" forces bearing down upon the individual or the group, constraining their scope for action. Conversely, ideas about how organizations are designed or function benefits from awareness of the "micro" diversity and dynamics of INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES in MOTIVATION, VALUES, and PERSONALITY. file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_VIII.html (2 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:28] Document Page ix It is helpful, therefore, to draw a distinction between the nature of a field of study and a discipline. Fields are defined by the content of their topics. Disciplines are defined by how they define their approach to topics – the type of knowledge they seek, the kinds of theories they construct, and the character of the methods they use. This makes OB an interdisciplinary field of study. It is defined, as we have seen above, by a bounded range of issues and problems, and within it, different social sciences meet, often with common cause. Domain Domain denotes four kinds of activity in which one finds scholars displaying differing balances of interest: theory building/testing, empirical investigation, methodological development/practice, and intervention/application. However, the interdependence of these domains points to the danger of individual scholars becoming over-identified with any of them. Theorizing without data drifts into armchair dreaming. The pursuit of data without theoretical foundation becomes trivial or empty cataloging. The pursuit of methodological rigor for its own sake degenerates into technical game playing. Application without conceptual, empirical and methodological discipline become mere selling. However, readers will find entries and authors differing in the emphasis across these domains, according to the state of knowledge about a topic. For example, there are topics whose primary challenge is theoretical, such as EXCHANGE RELATIONS, areas where the descriptive accumulation of data is the main objective, such as AGE; fields in which methodological development is a priority, such as NETWORK ANALYSIS; and areas where different methods of application are compared, such as SELECTION INTERVIEWING. However, most topics (including all of the above) offer challenges in all four domains. Pedigree Entry topics also differ in terms of their historical and cultural positioning. Some are represented here because of their importance to the past development of the field, such as MOTIVATOR/HYGIENE THEORY, whose insights have now largely been absorbed into current thinking. Others stand at the leading edge of the field and look likely to be areas of major future growth and application, such as PUNCTUATED EQUILIBRIUM and BUSINESS ETHICS, though one can never be too sure. The field of knowledge creation is a treacherous arena in which to try to second-guess the future and pick winners. This is not the same as identifying the unanswered questions, untested applications or future research needs of a topic, and in most entries authors have sought to do this. Controversy file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_IX.html (1 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:29] Document The fourth way in which topics differ is the degree to which they are contested. Contributors were asked to provide definitive statements about their topics, but at the same time to be open about controversies or substantive debates within them. Readers should not be alarmed if what they read in one entry is qualified or challenged in another – indeed the cross-referencing is intended to help surface these debates (compare, for example, EMOTION with EMOTIONS IN ORGANIZATIONS, or CHANGE METHODS with EVALUATION RESEARCH). Some entries offer more explicit challenge to orthodoxy than others (see, for example, POSTMODERNISM or CRITICAL THEORY). Others summarize the status quo in fields where a substantial consensus has emerged (e.g. GOAL-SETTING and MINORITY GROUP INFLUENCE). These contrasts are healthy in any field of inquiry where theories compete to give more complete explanations of phenomena, where new empirical studies are continuing to accumulate evidence, and where relevance is critically tested through application and practice. In other words, if you detect apparent contradictions between entries, they represent the vitality of competition in a growing field. The Method: How the Dictionary Was Conceived and Developed The Blackwell Encyclopedic Dictionary of Organizational Behavior is one of those projects which, when one hears of it, one's reaction is, "what a great idea – I could really use something like that." Well, that was my response on first thinking about it with the publisher, and it was a reaction pretty universally shared by contributors. Very few people approached to contribute declined the invitation. Unsolicited enthusiasm was the most common response: "this is a wonderful project – my graduate students/executive classes/researchers/and I will find this really helpful." file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_IX.html (2 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:29] Document Page x Clearly, to fulfil this potential required an organization and method. The key elements in the chronology of this were as follows: A Model of the Field The first major editorial task (in November 1991) was to develop a model of the field in terms of broad topic areas to be covered, with sample headwords to illustrate each. Feedback from Blackwell Publishers and external referees subsequently refined the categories into the following list: 1. individual differences; 2. job and role attitudes and behaviors; 3. management and leadership; 4. groups and group processes; 5. power, politics and intergroup relations; 6. human resources management; 7. organization theory; 8. organizational strategy and effectiveness; 9. human factors and technology; 10. culture and change; 11. metatheory and method. This formed the framework for the first draft of the headword list, and is the structure underlying the alphabetical sequence which appears in the volume. Generating the Headword List In April 1992 Advisory Editors, Professors Randall Schuler and Andrew Van de Ven, were recruited, not just to offer their specialist expert advice respectively in human resources management and organization theory, but also as scholars renowned for their breadth and mastery of the wider field. Our first collective task was to develop and refine the headword list, with the aim of achieving balance of content across domains, and a balance of specificity/detail across topics. To this end all headwords were classified, specifying target wordcount length and number of references. The length categories ranged from 50 words for a glossary entry to 4,000 for a few major feature entries. The final distribution by length was a bell-curve: the most frequent allocations were 500 and 1000 words, with fewer in the shorter and longer categories. Identifying Contributors Once the provisional headword list was complete (October 1992) the editorial team set about drawing up a contributor list. Selection and allocation was designed to achieve an international mix, but allowing for a North American preponderance, in keeping with the field's distribution of scholarship worldwide. It was also designed to draw upon a mix of established authorities and mid-career scholars and young rising stars. More senior authors were more often allocated major fields with wide boundaries and long histories, and newer scholars invited to write on specialist and emerging topics. Around April 1993, the list was complete and letters of invitation were sent out, accompanied by sample entries and guidance Notes for Contributors. In the months following, the contributor and headword list were extended and refined in response to contributor feedback. The Editorial Process file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_X.html (1 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:30] Document Writing a concise, informative and definitive essay within a very limited wordcount is no easy task. Most contributors did an outstanding job with their first drafts. Editorial feedback, typically, was to suggest ways of tightening text to fit within limits, queries for clarification of key points, and requests for additional material. The most common request of the latter kind was for contributors to expand on how their topic related to organizational experience, or to add comment on what future questions and developments might be foreseen for their topic. From mid-1994, with the bulk of entries now submitted, copy-editing commenced. Apart from minor adjustments to remove anomalies, overlaps and solecisms, the main task here was cross-referencing. This not only meant highlighting and adding textual headwords, but making additional suggestions at the end of entries, often to make connections which might not be obvious to readers. Production The final stages of the project were those associated with production – final copy-editing, type-setting, proof-reading and printing. You hold the result in your hands. Read, use, enjoy. file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_X.html (2 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:30] Document Page xi Acknowledgments The name of my secretary Angie Quest easily merits top billing for help way beyond the call of duty toward the creation of this book. Angie's name is well-known to contributors, since she has had continuing dialog with them all and has been absolutely indispensable to the smooth running of this project. There were times when we were simultaneously commissioning new contributors, receiving new manuscripts, suggestions, revisions, and receiving revised or finished copy. The complexity of this task with over 180 contributors writing over 500 pieces was, frankly, mind-boggling. It didn't boggle Angie's mind, and she handled the task and the contributors superbly throughout, always cheerful, tactful, insistent when necessary and unfailingly accurate and efficient in this multi-track operation. Most heartfelt thanks, not just from me but also from anyone who profits from or enjoys this book, are owed to her. A truly brilliant job. Randall Schuler and Andy Van de Ven also gave outstanding assistance at various stages of the project. Most of all, they gave deep and considered thought to the vital issues of content, balance and design to ensure the book represented the newest as well as the most traditional interests of OB scholars across a wide-ranging field. They also did a great job in helping suggest and commission the wonderful contributor list we assembled, also giving occasional additional advice on feedback to authors where I needed additional opinions. The fine quality of this book is a tribute to their contribution. The staff at Blackwells have also been terrific. First thanks are due to the editorial team of Alyn Shipton, Alison Mudditt, Tim Goodfellow and Philip Carpenter, whose combined commitment from Blackwell's Reference, Psychology and Business divisions helped the interdisciplinary vision of this volume to flourish, and were essential to its continuity and efficient production. Successively, Judith Harvey, Jason Pearce, Denise Rea, Sarah McNamee and other staff, provided first-class backroom support – circulating contributors, detecting problems to be solved, logging copy and providing technical advice. Thanks to you all. I also want to thank all my professional colleagues, at London Business School and beyond for their consistent support, encouragement and advice at all points on the long journey from inception to completion. Special thanks here are due to the OB Group at London Business School, for the excellence of their contributions to the volume, for their insights and ideas about its conception, and their tolerance of my absorption with it during some very busy periods of the academic calendar. Without these supports, the book would have been a near impossible task, and much less enjoyable and meaningful as a project. My wife and partner Mary, I thank too, for her patience at my regular distraction day and night by piles of manuscripts, and for her unflagging and generous support. file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_XI.html (1 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:31] Document Last, but by no means least, I thank our contributors, for their outstanding work, their good-natured responsiveness to editorial suggestions and progress-chasing, and for their belief in this project. Financial rewards for short reference entries are necessarily limited, but clearly this was never the source of their high motivation to take part and produce work of the highest quality standards (see INTRINSIC/EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION!). Throughout the process, I have continued to receive numerous notes from them affirming that this was a great project and expressing thanks and encouragement to me and the team. That meant a lot. Thank you. NIGEL NICHOLSON file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_XI.html (2 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:31] Document Page xiii Contributors Seymour Adler Stevens Institute of Technology Stuart Albert University of Minnesota Teresa M. Amabile Harvard Business School Deborah Ancona Massachusetts Institute of Technology Philip Anderson Dartmouth College Chris Argyris Harvard University Richard Arvey University of Minnesota Stephen R. Barley Stanford University William P. Barnett Stanford University Jay B. Barney The Ohio State University Bernard Bass SUNY, Binghamton Max Bazerman Northwestern University Avner Ben-Ner University of Minnesota file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_XIII.html (1 of 3) [2008-04-01 01:24:32] Document Kenneth Bettenhausen University of Colorado at Denver John Bigelow Boise State University Paul Blyton University of Wales Jeanne Brett Northwestern University Philip Bromiley University of Minnesota William Brown University of Cambridge L. David Brown Boston University John G. Burgoyne Lancaster University W. Warner Burke Teachers College, Columbia University Richard Butler University of Bradford Kim Cameron University of Michigan Andrew Clarkson Boston University Chris W. Clegg University of Sheffield Stewart Clegg UWS MacArthur A. P. Cockerill London Business School file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_XIII.html (2 of 3) [2008-04-01 01:24:32] Document Adrienne Colella Rutgers University Mary Ann Collins Brandeis University Thomas D. Cook Northwestern University Arnold C. Cooper Purdue University file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_XIII.html (3 of 3) [2008-04-01 01:24:32] Document Page xiv Cary L. Cooper University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology John Cordery University of Western Australia Thomas G. Cummings University of Southern California Sandra Dawson University of Cambridge Angelo De Nisi Rutgers University Gerardine DeSanctis Duke University David L. Deephouse Louisiana State University Theresa Domagalski University of South Florida Robert Drazin Emory University William Dyer Brigham Young University P. C. Earley London Business School Jack E. Edwards Defense Manpower Data Center P. K. Edwards University of Warwick Miriam Erez Technion–Israel Institute of Technology Paul Evans INSEAD file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_XIV.html (1 of 3) [2008-04-01 01:24:33] Document Daniel C. Feldman University of South Carolina Mark Fenton-O'Creevy Open University Business School Alan C. Filley University of Wisconsin Stephen Fineman University of Bath Clive Fletcher Goldsmiths College, University of London Charles Fombrun New York University John A. Fossum University of Minnesota Arthur Francis University of Glasgow John Freeman University of California, Berkeley Michael Frese University of Giessen David Fryer University of Stirling A. G. Gallagher Queens University, Belfast Jennifer M. George Texas A & M University Barry Gerhart Cornell University Connie Gersick University of California, Los Angeles file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_XIV.html (2 of 3) [2008-04-01 01:24:33] Document Robert A. Giacalone University of Richmond Rob Goffee London Business School Irwin L. Goldstein University of Maryland Brian Graham-Moore University of Texas at Austin Lynda Gratton London Business School Jerald Greenberg Ohio State University Hal B. Gregerson Brigham Young University Ricky W. Griffin Texas A & M University David Guest Birkbeck College, London Barbara A. Gutek University of Arizona J. Richard Hackman Harvard University file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_XIV.html (3 of 3) [2008-04-01 01:24:33] Document Page xv Jerald Hage University of Maryland Colin L. Hales University of Surrey Donald C. Hambrick Columbia University Kathy A. Hanisch Iowa State University Michael M. Harris University of Missouri-St Louis Jean Hartley University of Warwick Torsten Heinbokel University of Giessen Peter Herriot Institute of Employment Studies, University of Sussex Beryl Hesketh University of New South Wales Linda Hill Harvard Business School Wendy Hirsh Institute for Employment Studies (University of Sussex) Joyce C. Hogan University of Tulsa Edwin P. Hollander Bernard M. Baruch College, CUNY Dian Marie Hosking Aston University Robert House Wharton School file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_XV.html (1 of 3) [2008-04-01 01:24:34] Document Graham Hubbard Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Anne Sigismund Huff University of Colorado John W. Hunt London Business School Daniel Ilgen Michigan State University Susan E. Jackson New York University Marie Jahoda University of Sussex Mariann Jelinek College of William and Mary John M. Jermier University of South Florida Gary Johns Concordia University Ruth Kanfer University of Minnesota Tony Keenan Heriot-Watt University John Kelly London School of Economics and Political Science Manfred Kets de Vries INSEAD Richard Klimoski Ohio State University P. L. Koopman Free University, Amsterdam file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_XV.html (2 of 3) [2008-04-01 01:24:34] Document Kenneth Koput University of Arizona Kathy E. Kram Boston University Roderick Kramer Stanford University Michael Lawless University of Colorado Barbara S. Lawrence University of California, Los Angeles Gerald E. Ledford, Jr University of Southern California Karen Legge University of Warwick Ariel S. Levi Wayne State University Alessandro Lomi London Business School Robert G. Lord University of Akron Judi Marshall University of Bath file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_XV.html (3 of 3) [2008-04-01 01:24:34] Document Page xvi Joanne Martin Stanford University Mark J. Martinko Florida State University Michael Masuch University of Amsterdam Thomas C. Mawhinney Nigel Meager University of Sussex Elizabeth O. Mellon London Business School Marshall W. Meyer University of Pennsylvania Stephen Mezias New York University Susan Miller Durham University Henry Mintzberg McGill University and INSEAD Lawrence B. Mohr University of Michigan Allan M. Mohrman Jr University of Southern California Tim Morris London Business School J. Keith Murnighan Northwestern University Nigel Nicholson London Business School file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_XVI.html (1 of 3) [2008-04-01 01:24:34] Document Stella M. Nkomo University of North Carolina at Charlotte Greg Oldham University of Illinois J. Douglas Orton Hautes Études Commerciales, Paris Richard Osborn Wayne State University Roy L. Payne Kirton University Maury Peiperl London Business School Johannes M. Pennings University of Pennsylvania Jeffery T. Polzer Northwestern University Scott Poole University of Minnesota Walter W. Powell University of Arizona Robert D. Pritchard Texas A & M University Derek Pugh Open University Elizabeth C. Ravlin University of South Carolina Gordon Redding University of Hong Kong Peter Smith Ring Loyola Marymount University file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_XVI.html (2 of 3) [2008-04-01 01:24:34] Document Catherine A. Riordan University of Missouri-Rolla Ivan T. Robertson University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology David Rogers New York University James E. Rosenbaum Northwestern University Paul Rosenfeld Sara Rynes University of Iowa John Schaubroeck University of Nebraska Randall S. Schuler New York University Viv Shackleton Aston University Noel P. Sheey Queen's University, Belfast Henry P. Sims Jr University of Maryland – College Park file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_XVI.html (3 of 3) [2008-04-01 01:24:34] Document Page xvii John W. Slocum Southern Methodist University Sabine Sonnentag University of Amsterdam Paul Sparrow Manchester Business School Paul E. Spector University of South Florida R. B. Stammers Aston University Linda Stroh Loyola University Robert I. Sutton Stanford University Marie D. Thomas California State University, San Marcos Cheryl J. Travers Loughborough University Business School Linda Trevino The Pennsylvania State University Roger Undy Templeton College, University of Oxford John Van Maanen Massachusetts Institute of Technology Andrew Van de Ven University of Minnesota Marc J. Ventresca Northwestern University Mary Ann Von Glinow Florida International University file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_XVII.html (1 of 3) [2008-04-01 01:24:35] Document Toby D. Wall University of Sheffield John P. Wanous The Ohio State University Peter Warr University of Sheffield Karl E. Weick University of Michigan David T. H. Weir University of Bradford Management Centre Michael A. West University of Sheffield Roy Westbrook London Business School David A. Whetten Brigham Young University Uco J. Wiersma Hong Kong Baptist University Charles R. Williams Texas Christian University Paul Willman London Business School Donna J. Wood University of Pittsburgh Stephen Wood London School of Economics & Political Science Richard W. Woodman Texas A & M University Stuart A. Youngblood Texas Christian University file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_XVII.html (2 of 3) [2008-04-01 01:24:35] Document Edward J. Zajac Northwestern University Dale E. Zand New York University Fred Zimmerman University of St Thomas file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_XVII.html (3 of 3) [2008-04-01 01:24:35] Document Page 1 A Ability This concept denotes competence in an activity (see COMPETENCIES). It is the capacity to act – it is realized talent. Ability is a synonym for mental power, although there are other human abilities beyond the cognitive domain. Ability, a construct inferred from human performance, is a product of inherited genetic predispositions and acquired characteristics. Basic or general abilities are important for performance of a wide range of tasks (see PERFORMANCE, INDIVIDUAL). Historically, intelligence was seen as the basic human ability, and perhaps the most classic controversy in psychology is whether intelligence is a general ability (g) or a collection of specific abilities. Spearman, at the turn of the century, studied the relations between various mental measures and concluded that intelligence (see INTELLIGENCE, TESTING) has one general component and several secondary components. Thorndike and Thurstone argued that there are multiple components of intelligence; the most comprehensive conceptualization of intelligence is Guilford's structure of intellect model, which proposes 120 cognitive abilities. Cattell and Horn, in a more recent interpretation, suggest two dimensions – fluid intelligence, based on the individual's biological inheritance, and crystallized intelligence, based on fluid ability combined with experience. Measures of basic intellectual abilities almost always include verbal comprehension and quantitative reasoning (see COGNITIVE PROCESSES). In addition to the cognitive domain, abilities underlying physical, perceptual, and psychomotor task performance have been identified (Fleishman & Quaintance, 1984). See also Assessment; Psychological testing; Skill Bibliography Fleishman, E. A. & Quaintance, M. K. (1984). Taxonomies of human performance. New York: Academic Press. JOYCE C. HOGAN Absenteeism file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_1.html (1 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:36] Document The term can be defined as the failure to report for scheduled work. Absenteeism is distinguished from lateness or tardiness, which indicates a failure to show up for scheduled work on time and from TURNOVER, which indicates a permanent break in the employment relationship. Traditionally, managers have been interested in absenteeism because of its cost to organizations, while academic researchers have been interested in absenteeism on the assumption that it indicates something about employees' social or psychological attachment to the organization (see COMMITMENT; PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT). The Measurement of Absenteeism Many organizations are notoriously lax when it comes to recording systematically instances of absence. When they do so, they often codify absence instances with attributions as to cause which are of suspect accuracy (see ATTRIBUTION). Consequently, contemporary researchers most often simply divide absenteeism into time lost, the number of days missed over some period, and frequency, the number of inceptions or spells of absence over some period irrespective of the duration of each incident. To permit comparisons of employees with a different number of scheduled days or to characterize absenteeism at the group level (see LEVELS OF ANALYSIS) these figures can also be expressed as rates. Following the logic that absence is missing scheduled work, not reporting due to jury duty, file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_1.html (2 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:36] Document Page 2 vacation, or maternity leave is not generally counted as absence. Absence is a low base rate behavior, in that most employees exhibit relatively low absence levels while a few exhibit higher levels. Thus, a frequency distribution for absenteeism is truncated on the low end and positively skewed. Because it is a low base rate behavior, absence measures for individuals must be aggregated over a reasonably long period of time (3 to 12 months) to achieve adequate RELIABILITY of measurement. Even then, the reliability of absence measures (indexed by interperiod stability or internal consistency) is tenuous and varies across samples. Some VALIDITY evidence suggests that frequency of absence is more likely than time lost to reflect a voluntary component (Chadwick-Jones, Nicholson, & Brown, 1982; Hackett & Guion, 1985). Because of its nonnormal distribution, researchers should give serious consideration to transforming absence data or using alternative statistical procedures (e.g., tobit) in its analysis (see STATISTICAL METHODS). Managers should be aware that a few extreme absentees can have a disproportionate effect on means calculated from absence distributions, especially for small samples. The Correlates and Causes of Absenteeism A longstanding tradition concerns the correlation between demographic variables and absenteeism. This research reveals reliable associations between AGE and absence among men (younger workers exhibit more absence (Hackett, 1990)) and GENDER and absence (women are absent more than men) (see SEX DIFFERENCES; WOMEN AT WORK). However, little theory has emerged to explain these associations, and they tend to be confounded by differences in OCCUPATION and job STATUS. Johns (1997) presents several ''models" of absenteeism that correspond to both popular explanations and research-based explanations for absenteeism. Concerning the medical model, there is increasing evidence regarding the association between verified illness and absence. Also, self-reported health status is correlated with absence, and people tend to attribute the majority of their own absence to minor medical problems. The ultimate accuracy of such attributions is questionable, since "sickness" absence has motivational correlates, medical diagnoses often reflect prevailing community standards, and people sometimes adopt sick roles that manifest themselves in absence (see MENTAL HEALTH). The withdrawal model suggests that absenteeism is an attempt to remove oneself temporarily from aversive working conditions (see WITHDRAWAL, ORGANIZATIONAL). The voluminous literature on the relationship between JOB SATISFACTION and absenteeism reveals a very modest relationship, with dissatisfaction with the work itself being the facet most associated with absenteeism (Hackett & Guion, 1985). The progression-of-withdrawal hypothesis posits a movement from temporary absence to permanent turnover. In fact, there is a positive relationship between these variables at the individual level, a condition that is necessary but not sufficient to prove such a progression. file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_2.html (1 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:37] Document The deviance model derives from the negative consequences of absence for organizations. In its more elaborate form, it suggests that absentees harbor negative dispositional traits that render them unreliable (see PERSONALITY). People tend to make negative attributions about the causes of others' absenteeism, and absenteeism is a frequent cause of employee/management conflict. People also have a tendency to under-report their own absenteeism and to see their own behavior as exemplary compared to that of their coworkers and occupational peers (Johns, 1994). Evidence for an actual connection between negative traits and absenteeism is sparse and indirect. A necessary condition would be crosssituational consistency in absenteeism, and there is some evidence for that. More rigorous proof would be an association between absenteeism and other negative behaviors. Bycio's (1992) review indicates that more frequent absentees tend to be poorer performers and notes that "a disposition for delinquency" is one possible explanation. The economic model of absence suggests that attendance behavior is influenced by economic and quasieconomic constraints and opportunities. Those who value highly their nonwork time are more likely to be absent, and looser contractual provisions regarding attendance result in more absence (see NONWORK/WORK). Absence tends to increase when unemployment file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_2.html (2 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:37] Document Page 3 falls and when lucrative overtime pay is available. Some INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS scholars have argued that absence is a form of unorganized conflict that substitutes for some of the functions of COLLECTIVE ACTION. The cultural model of absence begins with the observation that there is often more variance between aggregates of individuals (such as work groups, departments, organizations, occupations, industries, and nations) than within these aggregates. Mechanisms of social influence and control subsumed under the label absence CULTURE have been advanced to account in part for these differences between groups (Chadwick-Jones et al., 1982; Johns & Nicholson, 1982). Some rich case studies of absence cultures exist, and work unit absence has been shown to account for individual absence over and above individual-level predictors. What is needed currently is more rigorous evidence on the formation and content of absence cultures (see ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE). In addition to the research subsumed under the above models, other eclectic themes can be seen in contemporary research. These include investigations of mood and absence (see AFFECT; EMOTION), the self-regulatory and coping functions of absence (see SELF-REGULATION), and the prediction of absence using within-person rather than between-person models. Managing Absenteeism The deviance model has tended to dominate management approaches to absence. As a result, surveys show that PUNISHMENT and discipline systems are the most common methods of controlling absence. Used alone, they are not especially effective because of negative side effects and because few employees are actually punished. More effective are mixed consequence systems that punish extreme offenders but reward good attenders with money, time off, and so on (Rhodes & Steers, 1990) (see REWARDS). JOB ENRICHMENT and FLEXITIME have both been associated with reduced absence, as have SELF-MANAGEMENT programs that teach employees to regulate their own attendance behavior. Badly needed are theories that translate the likely causes of absenteeism into credible interventions and organizations with the foresight to experiment with these interventions. Obsession with extreme offenders has distracted managers from giving attention to the attendance behavior of all employees. See also Job characteristics; Motivation and performance; Person–job fit; Performance, individual; Stress Bibliography Bycio, P. (1992). Job performance and absenteeism: A review and meta-analysis. Human Relations, 45, 193–220. Chadwick-Jones, J. K., Nicholson, N. & Brown, C. (1982). Social psychology of absenteeism. New York: Praeger. file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_3.html (1 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:38] Document Goodman, P. S. & Atkin, R. S. (Eds), (1984). Absenteeism. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Hackett, R. D. (1990). Age, tenure, and employee absenteeism. Human Relations, 43, 601–619. Hackett, R. D. & Guion, R. M. (1985). A reevaluation of the absenteeism-job satisfaction relationship. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 35, 340–381. Johns, G. (1997). Contemporary research on absence from work: Correlates, causes and consequences. International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 13, 115–173. Johns, G. (1994). Absenteeism estimates by employees and managers: Divergent perspectives and selfserving perceptions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79, 229–239. Johns, G. & Nicholson, N. (1982). The meanings of absence: New strategies for theory and research. Research in Organizational Behavior, 4, 127–173. Martocchio, J. J. & Harrison, D. A. (1993). To be there or not to be there? Questions, theories, and methods in absenteeism research. Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 11, 259– 329. Rhodes, S. R. & Steers, R. M. (1990). Managing employee absenteeism. Reading, MA: AddisonWesley. GARY JOHNS Accidents "Accident" normally refers to a chance event or consequence which, being unexpected, seems to lack an obvious cause. Investigations of industrial or organizational accidents commonly attribute cause either to machine failure, environmental factors, human error, or a combination of these (see ERGONOMICS; ERRORS). Applied psychologists and file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_3.html (2 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:38] Document Page 4 ergonomists have traditionally seen their organizational role to include accident analysis, particularly when accidents might be due to human error (Sheehy & Chapman, 1987). A number of methods have been devised to assist in the investigations and analysis of accidents. Task analysis permits the design of work practices according to regulated sequences of behaviors (see JOB ANALYSIS). This makes it possible to identify human error from a reliable and well-established reference point. However, in the modern workplace the increasing flexibility in work roles and responsibilities and the increased sophistication of industrial equipment, means that highly regularized work sequence reference points are less common. This type of analysis is probably inadequate in largescale socio-technical systems (Rasmussen, 1990) (see SOCIOTECHNICAL THEORY). Another type of accident analysis involves tracing the causal path from consequences back to an identified source and to contributing factors. The advantage of this approach is that it allows the enumeration of a broad range of factors, and the identifications of inter-relationships between them, and can guide the design of counter-measures. However, it can lead to biases in the sampling and analysis of error behaviors (Brown & Groeger, 1988) (see BIAS). This occurs because only error behaviors resulting in a recorded accident are studied. We have no indication of the frequency of occurrence of that behavior, nor of its variability, under circumstances which do not lead to accidents. Limitations in accident analysis methods may explain why some types of accident or patterns of accident are difficult to predict or explain. For example, Guastello (1988) describes the phenomena of small groups being subject to a highly variable accident rate (even bimodal) whereas large groups often display consistent rates over time (see GROUP SIZE). The study and prevention of accidents is not simply a matter of identifying abnormal events and practices. Many accidents are "normal" in the sense that they are an inevitable consequence of the design and management of certain kinds of work practice. Dwyer and Raferty (1991) have offered a sociological theory of industrial accidents using this idea. They suggest accidents are a product of three levels (not necessarily hierarchical), of social relations of work: (1) REWARDS; (2) command; and (3) organization. The reward level refers to the work that is produced through the manipulation of recompense (monetary or symbolic) in return for work effort (e.g., price-work, overtime, or BONUS PAYMENTS). The command level refers to work produced through the use of POWER, overt or covert, such as when risks at work are accepted as normal. Organizational level refers to the division of labor through task structure, the relationship between tasks and the knowledge or information that workers possess. See also Crises; Safety; Stress; Information processing Bibliography Brown, I. D. & Groeger, J. (1988). Risk perception and decision taking during the transition between novice and experienced driver status. Ergonomics, 31, 585–597. file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_4.html (1 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:39] Document Dwyer, T. & Raferty, A. E. (1991). Industrial accidents are produced by social relations at work: A sociological theory of industrial accidents. Applied Ergonomics, 22, 167–178. Guastello, S. J. (1988). Catastrophe modeling of the accident process: Organizational subunit size. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 246–255. Rassmussen, J. (1990). The role of error in organizing behaviour. Ergonomics, 33, 185–1199. Reason, J., Manstead, A., Stradling, S., Baxter, J. & Cambell, K. (1990). Errors and violations on the road: A real distinction? Ergonomics, 33, 1315–1332. Sheehy, N. P. & Chapman, A. J. (1987). Industrial accidents. In C. L. Cooper & I. T. Robertson (Eds), International review of industrial and organizational psychology 1987. Chichester, UK: Wiley. NOEL SHEEHY and A. G. GALLAGHER Accountability The term denotes responsibility for particular activities, results, or outcomes; specification of the person (s) or group(s) who hold such responsibility in an organization; the practice of holding designated individuals responsible, in an effort to insure that tasks are accomplished on time and according to agreed-upon methods and criteria. Literally, the term implies that the responsible party will be expected to account for outcomes, positive or negative, explaining how and why they occurred. file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_4.html (2 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:39] Document Page 5 Accountability has roots in CLASSICAL MANAGEMENT THEORY, in the DIVISION OF LABOR into parts, and in explicit job specifications. Consistent with Taylor's SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT, as well as with widespread norms of fairness, employees in organizations are deemed accountable for that portion of the work under their direct control; it is assumed that they can and will cause agreedupon results for that work. Accountability thus also assumes that results can be directly linked to the actions of specific individuals or groups. More generally, accountability carries an assumption of POWER as well as responsibility to affect specified results, often including profit or loss. Accounting systems, performance ASSESSMENT systems, and organizational arrangements generally are characterized by accountability if responsibility for identified outcomes is charged to specified individuals. See also Job analysis; Job description; Delegation; Hierarchy; Organizational design Bibliography Hoghland, J. C. & Wood, J. R. (1980). Control in organizations and the commitment of members. Social Forces, 59, (1), 92–104. MARIANN JELINEK Achievement, Need For This denotes a motivational disposition toward performance improvement and achievement under challenging or competitive conditions. Need for achievement, or nAch, has since 1947 been the subject of an impressive program of research by McClelland (1985), his students and others. This research has shown that those high in nAch are distinguished by a preference toward effort-based tasks on which they have a moderate – rather than a very high or low – probability of success and that provide them with concrete performance FEEDBACK. Tasks of this sort allow those high in nAch to more accurately diagnose the degree of effort required to improve and, ultimately, to succeed. A key developmental predictor of high nAch is early independence TRAINING. McClelland has measured societal differences in nAch and demonstrated how these differences are predictive of subsequent economic development. The preferred method for measuring individual differences in nAch is through the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) or a similar, fantasy-based measure of achievement need (see PERSONALITY TESTING); self-report measures of achievement motivation are only weakly correlated with fantasy-based measures of nAch and are less predictive of achievement outcomes. See also Personality; Motivation; Power Bibliography McClelland, D. C. (1985). Human motivation. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman. file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_5.html (1 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:39] Document Spangler, W. D. (1992). Validity of questionnaire and TAT measures of need for achievement: Two meta-analyses. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 140–154. SEYMOUR ADLER Action Research "Action research aims to contribute both to the practical concerns of people in an immediate problematic situation and to the goals of social science by joint collaboration within a mutually acceptable ethical framework" (Rapoport, 1970, p. 499). Its origin has been traced back to Kurt Lewin's concern that THEORY should not only be used to guide practice and its evaluation but that, equally important, results of evaluation should inform theory in a cyclical process of fact-finding, action, and evaluation (Ketterer, Price, & Politser, 1980) (see EVALUATION RESEARCH). Action research can be a rich source of accurate, detailed and authentic understanding of informants' assumptive worlds and contribute to both theory development and the prevention/intervention of psychological distress (see STRESS). Action researchers also emphasize the importance of the dissemination and use of the findings of research, ensuring that results are readily available in a comprehensible and meaningful form to the people involved. Much research "dealing with organizations from an action–research base" (Trist, 1980, p. 148) has been carried out from a socio-technical systems theory (STST) perspective (see SOCIO-TECHNICAL THEORY). Classic STST action file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_5.html (2 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:39] Document Page 6 research redesigned the work of coal miners and weavers in the 1950s. More recent job redesign studies have also included action research components (Kemp, Wall, Clegg, & Cordery, 1983) (see ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT). Action research has also been carried out within a community psychology perspective. Action researchers have illuminated the social impact of new TECHNOLOGY by facilitating the development of computer applications by women, ethnic minorities, older people, the disabled, and unwaged people collectively in the community (Cassell, Fitter, Fryer, & Smith, 1988). Others have investigated the role of poverty in psychological distress through action research which simultaneously empowers informants in their dealings with state organizations by offering financial advice as part of the research process (Fryer & Fagan, 1994). Other researchers have empowered tenants' groups in lobbying state organizations for housing improvements by enabling tenants to demonstrate the physical and MENTAL HEALTH consequences of damp housing through research (Martin, Platt, & Hunt, 1987). Action research is especially valuable when investigating difficult to access, exceedingly complex, or sensitive issues, or when working with informants who would be otherwise unlikely to become constructively involved in research. These include those who are: low in confidence; confused; apathetic; emotionally fragile; distressed; suspicious; or who have limited COMMUNICATION skills. It is interesting that Eric Trist's first published paper was based on research "methods of investigating and giving some kind of service to the community in order to gain legitimate access" (Trist, 1980, p. 146). Jahoda's seminal study of an unemployed community is a classic example of such research. Her team distributed shoes and clothing, ran courses, provided free medical consultations and medications, and facilitated political party activity, amongst many other interventions, to build close and insight-yielding researcher/informant relationships. It was "a consistent point of policy that (none) of our researchers should be . . . a mere reporter or outside observer. Everyone was to fit naturally into the communal life by participating in some activity generally useful to the community" (Jahoda, Lazarsfeld, & Zeisel, 1972, p. 5). More recent Scandinavian action research in the same spirit is reported by Levi, Brenner, Hall, Hjelm, Salovaara, Arnetz, & Pettersson, (1984). The main attraction of action research is, indeed, that it facilitates the development of ethically and ideologically more acceptable ways for persons as researchers to relate to persons as research informants, methods which do not reinforce distress or further disadvantage. See also Research methods; Consultancy intervention models; Empowerment Bibliography Cassell, C., Fitter, M., Fryer, D. & Smith, L. (1988). The development of computer applications by nonemployed people in community settings. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 61, 89–102. file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_6.html (1 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:40] Document Fryer, D. & Fagan, R. (1994). The role of social psychological aspects of income on the mental health costs of unemployment: An action research perspective. The Community Psychologist, 27, 2, 16–17. Jahoda, M., Lazarsfeld, P. F. & Zeisel, H. (1972). Marienthal: The sociography of an unemployed community. London: Tavistock. Kemp, N.J., Wall, T. D., Clegg, C. W. & Cordery, J. L. (1983). Autonomous work groups in a greenfield site: A comparative study. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 56, 271–288. Ketterer, R. F., Price, R. H. & Politser, P. E. (1980). The action research paradigm. In R. H. Price & P. E. Politser (Eds), Evaluation and action in the social environment. London: Academic Press. Levi, L., Brenner, S., Hall, E. M., Hjelm, R., Salovaara, H., Arnetz, B. & Pettersson, I. (1984). The psychological, social and biochemical impacts of unemployment in Sweden. International Journal of Mental Health, 13, 18–34. Martin, C. J., Platt, C. D. & Hunt, S. M. (1987). Housing conditions and ill health. British Medical Journal, 294, 1125–1127. Rapoport, R. (1970). Three dilemmas of action research. Human Relations, 23, 499–513. Trist, E. L. (1980). Eric Trist, British Interdisciplinarian, interviewed by Marshall Sashkin. Group and Organisation Studies, 5, 2, 144–166. DAVID FRYER Action Theory The theory offers an account of how human action is structured cognitively, and is of special relevance to JOB DESIGN, TRAINING, GOAL-SETTING, and other applica- file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_6.html (2 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:40] Document Page 7 tions. It originated over 20 years ago in Germany and has been highly influential in European Industrial/ Organizational Psychology since that time (Frese & Zapf, 1994; Hacker, 1985; Volpert, 1974). It is both a cognitive and a behaviorally oriented theory (see COGNITIVE PROCESSES). One basic assumption is that action is goal-oriented behavior. Action is described from a process-oriented and a structural view-point that are integrated in a hierarchical–sequential model. From a process-oriented perspective, an action consists of developing goals, choosing between competing goals, orienting and making prognoses for future events, generating and selecting plans, executing and monitoring the plan, and processing FEEDBACK. These steps are not necessarily performed in this order, their sequence may appear rather chaotic, for example, when a goal is changed during the execution of a plan. Regarding the structural aspects of action, actions are organized hierarchically. High level and global goals that cannot be achieved directly are divided into lower level subgoals. Generally, this means that units at lower levels are nested in units at higher levels (e.g., via TOTE units, see Miller, Galanter, & Pribram, 1960). One can distinguish four levels of action regulation along both the dimension of conscious to automatic regulation and the dimension of thoughts to muscular movements: Heuristic level, intellectual level, level of flexible action patterns, and sensorimotor level. Operative image systems build the knowledge base of action regulation. They are internal long-term action-regulating representations and are comprised of movement-oriented, flexible actions, as well as complex schemata, strategies, metaplans, and heuristics. These image systems are task-oriented, selective, schematic, and "cost optimizing." Appropriate operative image systems are necessary for efficient action regulation. Action Theory conceptualizes action as a mediator between the working person and the objective world of work objects such as material and outcome. Action is necessary in order to change work objects, but also the objective world has an impact on actions. Personal prerequisites influence actions, and actions have an impact on the PERSONALITY of the working person as well (see SOCIALIZATION). Within this framework, Action Theory has developed applications for central phenomena in Industrial/ Organizational Psychology: classifications of task characteristics (see JOB CHARACTERISTICS), instruments for job analysis, strategies for work design, ERRORS, the effects of competence on performance, training, and the developmental impact of work experience on personality. One of Action Theory's most important contributions to OB is its analysis of competence for efficient actions and its methodology for enhancing competence through training. For example, effective managers demonstrate more causal thinking and better PLANNING, better diagnostic information seeking, and better synthetic thinking than do average managers (Klemp & McClelland, 1986). This is also true of blue and white collar workers. file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_7.html (1 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:41] Document Action Theory can well explain why goal setting methods (see GOAL SETTING) have been found to work so well, and why people will fall back on old routines even when new approaches are actually necessary (the principle of automatization). See also Cognition in organizations; Performance, individual; Human-computer interaction; Selfregulation Bibliography Frese, M. & Zapf, D. (1994). Action as the core of work psychology: A German approach. In M. D. Dunnette, J. M. Hough & H. C. Triandis (Eds), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (vol. 4, 2nd edn, pp. 271–340). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press. Hacker, W. (1985). Activity: A fruitful concept in industrial psychology. In M. Frese & J. Sabini (Eds), Goal directed behavior: The concept of action in psychology (pp. 262–283). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Klemp, G. O. & McClelland, D. C. (1986). What characterizes intelligent functioning among senior managers. In R. J. Sternberg & R. K. Wagner (Eds), Practical intelligence. Nature and origins of competence in the everyday world pp. 51–83. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Miller, G. A., Galanter, E. & Pribram, K. H. (1960). Plans and the structure of behavior. London: Holt. file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_7.html (2 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:41] Document Page 8 Volpert, W. (1974). Handlungsstrukturanalyse als Beitrag zur Qualifikationsforschung. Köln: Pahl– Rugenstein. SABINE SONNENTAG and MICHAEL FRESE Adhocracy see DECISION MAKING; GARBAGE CAN; ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN Administrative Theory see ORGANIZATION THEORY Advanced Manufacturing Technology The term "advanced manufacturing technology" (AMT) describes computer-based manufacturing machinery and support systems. In other words, AMT is the manufacturing application of INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. Closely related terms, often used as synonyms, include "new manufacturing technology," ''microelectronic-based manufacturing technology," and "computer-aided manufacturing." A distinction can be made between direct and indirect applications of AMT (Sharit, Chang, & Salvendy, 1987). The former include standalone computer numerically controlled machine tools, assembly machines, and robotics installations. Where several such pieces of equipment are integrated under shared computer control, through various materials handling and transfer devices, they form a flexible manufacturing system (see FLEXIBILITY). Indirect applications include COMPUTERAIDED DESIGN and computer-aided engineering, process planning, and production scheduling systems. Two features of AMT make it a particularly significant development. First, because different applications are based on a common information technology there is the potential for greater functional integration through the transmission of information between direct and indirect applications (see INFORMATION PROCESSING). For example, information on materials use from shopfloor equipment can be downloaded to immediately update an inventory control system; data on machine utilization can be fed into production scheduling systems to optimize output; and design to production lead times can be reduced through computer-aided design functions being directly linked to part programming. This offers the prospect of full "computer integrated manufacturing," though in practice logistic and economic factors constrain the extent to which such integration is being realized. However, there is a second feature of AMT which is being more widely exploited. Computer control not only supports accurate and rapid machine operation but, because it can be programmed, also enables machinery to be used to make a wide variety of parts and to readily accommodate new ones. For the same reason, set-up and changeover times are often very short. Consequently, AMT represents a flexible and more widely applicable form of AUTOMATION which is also highly compatible with JUST-IN-TIME inventory control and TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT. Indeed, because of the file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_8.html (1 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:42] Document interdependencies among these three initiatives they have been identified as core components of a "new paradigm" of "integrated manufacturing" (Dean & Snell, 1991). Much of the initial interest in AMT concerned its impact on JOB DESKILLING. Research has shown that while it can encourage the simplification of shopfloor work, it does not necessarily do so. The effect depends on the choices made in the associated JOB DESIGN. Correspondingly, increasing attention is being paid to the relationship of operator job design to the effective use of AMT systems, where initial findings suggest that, at least for more complex applications, an enskilling strategy is best. That in turn, from a HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION standpoint, has raised the question of the appropriate allocation of function between AMT and operator, and how one can bring "humancentered" criteria into the system design process. Also of current interest are the wider implications of AMT for HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT strategies and ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN. Research in these and other areas is in its early stages, but is gathering momentum. See also Productivity; Ergonomics; Business process reengineering; Operations management Bibliography Dean, J. W. & Snell, S. A. (1991). Integrated manufacturing and job design: Moderating effects file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_8.html (2 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:42] Document Page 9 of organizational inertia. Academy of Management Journal, 34, 776–804. Majchrzak, A. (1988). The human side of factory automation. San Francisco: Jossey–Bass. Sharit, J., Chang, T. & Salvendy, G. (1987). Technical and human aspects of computer-aided manufacturing. In G. Salvendy (Ed.), Handbook of human factors pp. 1587–1616. New York: Wiley. Wall, T. D., Clegg, C. W. & Kemp, N. J. (Eds), (1987). The human side of advanced manufacturing technology. Chichester, UK: Wiley. Wall, T. D. & Davids, K. (1992). Shopfloor work organization and advanced manufacturing technology. In C. L. Cooper & I. T. Robertson (Eds), International review of industrial and organizational psychology (vol. 7, pp. 363–398). Chichester, UK: Wiley. TOBY D. WALL Affect This is a generic term which refers to the wide range of feeling states that people experience. In ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, the primary concern is with affective or feeling states that are experienced on the job. Affective states vary in intensity. Relatively strong affective states that interrupt cognitive processes and/or behavior are typically referred to as EMOTIONS. Typical day-to-day affective states that do not interrupt cognitive processes and/or behavior, but rather provide the affective context for daily experiences are often referred to as moods. While mood states do not interrupt current thought processes and activities, they have been demonstrated to have profound effects on them. Mood at work refers to feeling states workers typically experience on the job. While there is a tendency to think of mood as varying along a single continuum from positive to negative, a substantial body of literature suggests that mood states are characterized by two predominant and independent dimensions, positive mood and negative mood. Positive moods and negative moods have different antecedents, different consequences, and have different relationships with life events. Mood at work is determined by both PERSONALITY and situational factors. Two personality traits, positive affectivity and negative affectivity, are the key dispositional determinants of positive and negative mood states, respectively. Positive and negative moods at work are also influenced by situational factors which can be either work or nonwork related (see NONWORK/WORK). While situational factors may help to initiate a particular mood state, mood states are generally pervasive and not directed at any particular object or event. file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_9.html (1 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:43] Document Mood at work has been neglected by organizational behavior researchers, but this situation is changing and mood is currently receiving increasing attention. It is important to realize that affective states (and moods at work) are conceptually and empirically distinct from the often studied construct, JOB SATISFACTION, which connotes an attitude toward one's job rather than how one feels on the job (Clark & Isen, 1982). Mood at work has been linked to various work-related behaviors such as ABSENTEEISM, helping behavior, and the extent to which individuals perform extra-role behaviors such as forms or organizational spontaneity (George, 1989; 1990; George & Brief, 1992). Mood states of group leaders have been shown to affect group outcomes such as group performance (see GROUP DYNAMICS). Additionally, it has been argued that certain processes may result in members of WORK GROUPS experiencing similar mood states on the job. When this occurs, groups are said to possess an affective tone which has been shown to be related to group outcomes such as performance (see CULTURE, GROUP). See also Attitude, theory; Performance, individual; Emotions in organizations Bibliography Clark, M. S. & Isen, A. M. (1982). Toward understanding the relationship between feeling states and social behavior. In A. H. Hastorf & A. M. Isen (Eds), Cognitive social psychology pp. 73–108. New York: Elsevier. George, J. M. (1989). Mood and absence. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74, 317–324. George, J. M. (1990). Personality, affect, and behavior in groups. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75, 107–116. George, J. M. & Brief, A. P. (1992). Feeling good–doing good: A conceptual analysis of the mood at work-organizational spontaneity relationship. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 310–329. JENNIFER M. GEORGE file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_9.html (2 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:43] Document Page 10 Affiliation, Need For This dispositional motive reflects a concern with establishing and maintaining affectively positive relationships with other people (McClelland, 1985; 1989). In common with other dispositional motives such as the NEED FOR ACHIEVEMENT and need for power, the preferred method for measuring individual differences in need for affiliation is the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) (see PERSONALITY TESTING). Those high in need for affiliation (nAff) more frequently interact with others. Friendship, rather than SKILL or expertise, more strongly governs their choice of a work partner. There is a strong element of fear of rejection in nAff; consequently, those high in nAff act to avoid CONFLICT or direct competition. They will only demonstrate higher levels of CONFORMITY if conformity is instrumental in the particular situation for achieving social acceptance or avoiding conflict or rejection. In pursuit of approval, those high in nAff will demonstrate strong task performance and in the presence of social incentives demonstrate strong achievement tendencies. High nAff is a key component of what McClelland (1989) has labeled the Relaxed Affiliative Syndrome, or Affiliative Trust, which is associated with lower rates of hypertension, lower levels of STRESS, and higher levels of immunochemicals. See also Type-A; Need theory; Group cohesiveness Bibliography McClelland, D. C. (1985). Human motivation. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman. McClelland, D. C. (1989). Motivational factors in health and disease. American Psychologist, 44, 675– 683. SEYMOUR ADLER Age Within ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, two questions about age are paramount. What are the effects of age on work PERFORMANCE and attitudes, and how do different conditions of work affect the pace of aging? (see PERFORMANCE, INDIVIDUAL). On the first question, meta-analyses of studies published in the past four decades have shown that the average association between age and job performance is around zero; in the extensive review by McEvoy and Cascio (1989) the mean correlation was 0.06. However, there are wide variations between individual studies, with age–performance correlations ranging from -0.44 to 0.66. file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_10.html (1 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:44] Document In all cases we need to ask what are the underlying causal factors. Negative age gradients in any behavior are likely to be due to a decline in basic capacities, deriving from physiological processes which tend to deteriorate over the years, especially after the age of RETIREMENT. Positive associations between age and performance are likely to arise from accumulated knowledge and SKILLS over years of relevant experience. In general, positive associations between age and job performance are likely to be found in relatively stable situations, where knowledge and skills can continue to be acquired by older workers. Models of age-related gains in cognitive performance are sometimes presented in terms of "selective optimization with compensation" (Baltes & Baltes, 1990b). As people age, they increase their effectiveness in areas of specialization. Continued interest and practice in a limited number of areas permit the growth of knowledge-based expertise; and at the same time individuals are sometimes able to learn how to compensate for limitations from deteriorating basic capacities. In many jobs, declines in basic capacities (typically small during the years of employment) will be balanced by improvements associated with relevant experience and possible compensation for limited deficits. For example, older people's successful compensation in cognitive activities was documented in relation to transcription-typing by Salthouse (1984). Although older typists were found to respond more slowly in a choice reaction–time task, there was no age difference in actual typing speed. That was because older staff were more likely to look further ahead along the line than their younger counterparts; it was this additional preparation time which permitted them to type as rapidly as their younger colleagues, despite their slower reactions. On the other hand, a negative relationship with age is expected in tasks where basic capacities are exceeded and experience cannot help. This is seen in continuous rapid INFORMATIONPROCESSING or in any kind of stren- file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_10.html (2 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:44] Document Page 11 uous physical activity which becomes more difficult with advancing years. For example, slight negative age gradients are found in "fluid" intelligence, over the span of working life, in situations where new material (usually abstract and nonverbal) has to be processed under time pressure. Age differences of a similar kind are found in LEARNING and memory. Older people in general do not learn as quickly and they sometimes lack confidence in training situations. Within specific jobs, older employees thus tend in general to have more difficulty where job content is changing rapidly, and where their knowledge and skills can become obsolete. However, it is clear that older as well as younger employees are able to learn complex new material, despite the operation of negative STEREOTYPING in this area (Sterns & Doverspike, 1989; Warr, 1994). It is important to stress that many job activities are unaffected by either type of age effect. Work is in many settings routine and nonproblematic, requiring either limited skill or skill sufficiently firmly established for behavior to be fairly automatic. Age differences in task performance are not expected in the many roles where employees are not required to perform at high levels nor to respond quickly to new stimuli. However, age DISCRIMINATION is common in the SELECTION and promotion of staff (see SELECTION METHODS). Research has shown that age discrimination harms an organization's effectiveness as well as being unethical. The variation in employees' performance within age-groups is typically greater than that between them. Research has also examined job attitudes at different ages. Overall JOB SATISFACTION is typically found to be significantly higher among older workers (e.g., Clark, Oswald & Warr, 1996), although the positive correlation is not high, usually falling between 0.10 and 0.20. Even after controlling for factors such as tenure, income, positive job features, or job level there still remains a positive age gradient. Part of that gradient is likely to be attributable to nonwork differences between older and younger people, associated with differences in LIFE STAGE and general MENTAL HEALTH (Warr, 1992). The second major question about age is: How do different conditions of work affect the pace of aging? Are some environments more conducive than others to "successful aging" (Baltes & Baltes, 1990a)? Evidence about the long-term influence of jobs on aging tends to be indirect, since any job is located in a broader socio-economic structure and it is difficult to disentangle job from nonjob factors (see NONWORK/WORK). However, research has pointed to the causal importance of the "environmental complexity" provided by different jobs. Kohn and Schooler (1983) have demonstrated longitudinally that several forms of "intellectual flexibility" are enhanced by prolonged exposure to complex jobs. Avolio and Waldman (1987) have reported that age and mental performance are differently interrelated among skilled and unskilled employees. Negative correlations of reasoning ABILITY with age (holding constant level of education) were significantly greater for the unskilled group (exposed to less complex work environments) than for the skilled workers. file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_11.html (1 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:45] Document As part of the wider concern of organizational behavior for the impacts of different JOB CHARACTERISTICS, it is thus important to examine long-term effects across a period of years. Cognitive aging is likely to be accelerated or slowed down by the nature of a person's employment. See also Individual differences; Career stages; Training Bibliography Avolio, B. J. & Waldman, D. A. (1987). Personnel aptitude test scores as a function of age, education, and job type. Experimental Aging Research, 13, 109–113. Baltes, P. B. & Baltes, M. M. (Eds), (1990a). Successful aging. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Baltes, P. B. & Baltes, M. M. (1990b). Psychological perspectives on successful aging: The model of selective optimization with compensation. In P. B. Baltes & M. M. Baltes (Eds), Successful aging (pp. 1–34). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Clark, A., Oswald, A. & Warr, P. B. (1996). Is job satisfaction U-shaped in age? Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 69, 57–81. file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_11.html (2 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:45] Document Page 12 Kohn, M. L. & Schooler, C. (1983). Work and personality: An inquiry into the impact of social stratification. Norwood, NJ: Ablex. McEvoy, G. M. & Cascio, W. F. (1989). Cumulative evidence of the relationship between employee age and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74, 11–17. Salthouse, T. A. (1984). Effects of age and skill in typing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 113, 345–371. Sterns, H. L. & Doverspike, D. (1989). Aging and the training and learning process. In L. L. Goldstein (Ed.), Training and development in organizations (pp. 299–332). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Warr, P. B. (1992). Age and occupational well-being. Psychology and Aging, 7, 37–45. Warr, P. B. (1994). Age and employment. In H. Triandis, M. Dunnette & L. Heugh (Eds), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology, 485–550. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press. PETER WARR Agency Restriction Agency Restriction Metatheory (ARM) is based on two hypothesis-generating assumptions. The first is that people are socially embedded agents actively striving for purposeful self-determination, attempting to make sense of, initiate, influence, and cope with events in line with personal VALUES, goals, and expectations of the future in a context of cultural norms, traditions, and past experience (see SELFREGULATION). The second assumption is that agency is frequently undermined, restricted, and frus trated by formal and informal social forces including: powerful constituting and regulating social institutions and organizations; required social relationships entailing strain-inducing obligations combined with minimal collective and individual rights; inadequate personal, family, social, community, and material resources; and powerful, socially constructed, norms, role expectations, and disentitlements. ARM was first developed within the UNEMPLOYMENT field out of a critique of the underlying assumptions of Jahoda's MANIFEST AND LATENT FUNCTION theory in an attempt to generate alternative working hypotheses (Fryer, 1986). It was developed further to focus research on the way unemployment undermines future orientation, on the extent and nature of active coping strategies and on the FRUSTRATION of personal agency by relative poverty. Although first applied to individuals, ARM also helps to explain the impact of unemployment and relative poverty on families and on the broader community, and the psychological costs of JOB INSECURITY, and low JOB SATISFACTION amongst young people, as well as negative labor market experience more generally. file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_12.html (1 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:46] Document Support for ARM comes from literature reviews, conceptual analysis, small scale qualitative research ACTION/INTERVENTION RESEARCH, and large scale, orthodox quantitative studies. See also Locus of control; Mental health; Stress; Quality of working life Bibliography Fryer, D. (1986). Employment deprivation and personal agency during unemployment. Social Behaviour, 1, (1), 3–23. DAVID FRYER Agency Theory This theory examines the problems – and partial contractual solutions (see CONTRACT) – that exist when a principal delegates DECISION-MAKING responsibility to an agent who is paid a fee, but whose own objectives may conflict with those of the principal. This economics-based theoretical perspective, like TRANSACTION COST THEORY, has grown enormously in scope and influence (and with some controversy) since the 1970s, and has been used in analyses of executive compensation contracts and other corporate governance issues (see GOVERNANCE AND OWNERSHIP). In applying or adapting agency theory to these organizational issues, it is useful, however, to distinguish between what Jensen (1983, pp. 334–335) refers to as two "almost entirely separate" agency literatures: a normative principal–agent literature emphasizing the design of compensation contracts with optimal risk-sharing properties (Levinthal, 1988), and a positive, empirically-based, agency literature focusing primarily on questions relating to the separation of corporate ownership and control, and the role of boards of directors (ensen & Murphy, 1990). file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_12.html (2 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:46] Document Page 13 Organizational research using agency theory has tended to draw from the positive, rather than the normative, agency literature. For example, while the positive agency literature highlights the value of placing greater amounts of managerial compensation and managerial wealth at risk by tying it closer to firm performance, the normative agency literature stresses the need to consider the potential disadvantages of forcing managers to bear "excessive" compensation risk (Beatty & Zajac, 1994) (see RISK-TAKING). Organizational research, however, has generally placed greater emphasis on the importance – from an incentive and control standpoint – of imposing strong pay-for-performance linkages, rather than the possible disadvantages of imposing risk-bearing in managerial compensation contracts (see PERFORMANCE RELATED PAY). Interestingly, the lack of debate in the recent organizational literature on this issue is somewhat surprising, given that the organization behavior literature on compensation has historically recognized that different forms of compensation, such as payfor-performance, vary in their attractiveness to individuals, and therefore, vary in their appropriateness as incentive-motivational tools (Zajac, 1992) (see PAYMENT SYSTEMS). Agency problems typically emerge because of the two fundamental conditions that underlie principal– agent relationships: goal incongruence and information asymmetry (Zajac, 1990). Goal congruence is an assumed condition, without which the agency problem reduces to a more easily solvable contracting problem. The second dimension, information asymmetry, is a critical variable in the principal-agent relationship, and has generated a substantial body of research within the information economics literature (see ORGANIZATIONAL ECONOMICS). Information asymmetry refers to the fact that in the typical principal-agent relationship, the principal has less information than the agent about: (1) the characteristics of the agent; and (2) the decisions made and the actions taken by the agent. These two aspects of information asymmetry have been labeled formally in the information economics literature as adverse selection and moral hazard, respectively. The moral hazard problem is typically discussed in the positive agency literature that examines problems between owners and top managers (Fama and Jensen, 1983) or between boards and CEOs (Westphal & Zajac, forthcoming). For that literature, the issue is whether owners are able to adequately monitor and control the actions and decisions of self-interested CEOs. Interestingly, organizational research has tended to focus on the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of boards of directors as monitors of top management, without considering explicitly the possible cost/benefit trade-offs between the relative use of incentives versus monitoring as alternative sources of controlling managerial behavior (Zajac & Westphal, 1994). Beatty and Zajac (1994) suggest that three fundamental elements underlie agency relationships in organizations (incentives, monitoring, and risk-bearing), and that all three should be included in theoretical and empirical analyses of contractual relations. Future research that considers these three elements jointly, and explicitly considers the conflicts, trade-offs, and substitution possibilities among them, may have the greatest potential to further advance our understanding of top executive compensation, ownership, and corporate governance. file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_13.html (1 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:47] Document See also Exchange relations; Governance and ownership; Strategic management Bibliography Beatty, R. P. & Zajac, E. J. (1994). Top management incentives, monitoring, and risk sharing: A study of executive compensation, ownership, and board structure in initial public offerings. Administrative Science Quarterly, 39, 313–336. Fama, E. F. & Jensen, M. C. (1983). Separation of ownership and control. Journal of Law and Economics, 26, 301–325. Jensen, M. C. (1983). Organization theory and methodology. Accounting Review, 58, 319–339. Jensen, M. C. & Murphy, K. J. (1990). Performance pay and top-management incentives. Journal of Political Economy, 98, 225–264. Levinthal, D. (1988). A survey of agency models of organizations. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 9, 153–185. Westphal, J. D. & E. J. Zajac (1994) Substance and symbolism in CEOs' long-term incentive plans. Administrative Science Quarterly, 39, 367–390. file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_13.html (2 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:47] Document Page 14 Zajac, E. J. (1990). CEO selection, succession, compensation and firm performance: A theoretical integration and empirical analysis. Strategic Management Journal, 11, 217–230. Zajac, E. J. (1992). Relating economic and behavioral perspectives in strategy research. In P. Shrivastava, A. Huff & J. Dutton (Eds), Advances in strategic management (vol. 8, pp. 69–96). Greenwich, CN: JAI Press. Zajac E. J. & Westphal, J. D. (1994). The costs and benefits of managerial incentives and monitoring in large US corporations: When is more not better. Strategic Management Journal, 15, 121–192. EDWARD J. ZAJAC Alcohol and Substance Abuse Alcohol and illegal substance use is regarded as a major problem in the United States and many other countries. While precise figures are impossible to estimate, a commonly used estimate is 30 billion dollars of lost productivity due to illegal substance use and 60 billion dollars of lost PRODUCTIVITY due to alcohol abuse in the United States annually. Alcohol and illegal substance use is viewed as a workplace problem in many other countries as well. In an attempt to alleviate such losses, some have argued that companies should address the causes of alcohol and substance abuse. One of the most commonly mentioned causes is job conditions (e.g., STRESS). Despite the adage "my work is driving me to drink," empirical studies have found little support for a link between job conditions and alcohol and substance abuse. There is relatively stronger evidence for a relationship between workforce characteristics, such as AGE and substance abuse (i.e., younger workers are more likely to engage in substance abuse than older employees). A great deal of attention has focused on organizations' attempts to reduce alcohol and substance abuse through testing and Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). With regard to testing, many U.S. companies have adopted programs to screen for a variety of illegal substances (Roman, 1990). These testing programs may be performed at the pre-employment stage (see SELECTION METHODS), "for cause" (e.g., after an accident occurs), or on a random basis. The research on drug testing has been somewhat mixed; although some studies have found drug testing to be somewhat predictive of job outcomes (e.g., ACCIDENT rates, terminations) (see TURNOVER), others have challenged the costbenefits of such testing. Drug testing has also been criticized by those who feel that it produces a high false positive (i.e., applicants or employees who may be mistakenly labeled as drug users) rate. Again, the research evidence is quite mixed as to how high the false positive rate is for various drug tests. In terms of legal status, there are numerous federal, state, local, and industry (e.g., Department of Transportation) regulations in the United States that may limit the conditions under which drug testing can be performed. In some cases, however, these regulations may mandate drug testing. Other U.S. laws potentially affect the employment rights of alcohol and substance abusers; under certain conditions, for example, an alcoholic may be protected from discrimination under the Americans with the Disabilities Act. Workplace drug testing in other countries is practically nonexistent. file:///C|/downloadnetlibrary/Blackwell%20Ency/nlReader.dll@BookID=48684&FileName=Page_14.html (1 of 2) [2008-04-01 01:24:48] Document Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are workplace-based programs designed to identify troubled employees (e.g., those who are alcohol or substance abusers), and help them obtain treatment or counseling (see COUNSELING IN ORGANIZATIONS). Such programs are widely available in many U.S. companies, particularly among larger companies. Similar programs are becoming much more common in other countries, such as Sweden and Germany. Despite their popularity, there has been little rigorous research regarding their effectiveness. The focus, from an organization's perspective, has been on the cost-benefits of such programs compared with othe