SJTs: They’re Not Perfect, but Gosh Darn it they Work!

Topic: Selection
Publication: Human Performance
Article: Contextual effects on SJT responses: An examination of construct validity and mean differences across applicant and incumbent contexts
Authors: W.I. MacKenzie, R.E. Ployhart, J.A. Weekley, and C. Ehlers
Reviewed By: Benjamin Granger

 A situational judgment test (SJT) is a commonly used employee selection tool which presents job applicants with realistic work situations.  Job applicants are required to choose from several response options, which range in their effectiveness (as rated by subject matter experts).  While SJTs tend to predict future job performance rather well, there is still debate as to what SJTs actually measure (SJTs correlate with and likely measure cognitive ability, personality, job knowledge, and experience simultaneously) and how they operate in different contexts (e.g., job applicants vs. incumbents).  

To further investigate the validity of SJTs, MacKenzie et al. (2010) addressed a few major issues common in SJT research.  For example, much of the existing research on SJTs relies on samples of job incumbents.  However, SJTs are most frequently used in new employee selection and the authors speculate that the knowledge, skills, and abilities of incumbents may differ significantly from that of job applicants.  In other words, SJTs may operate differently for job incumbents and applicants. 

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Subconscious Goal Setting: Pursuing Goals without Even Knowing it

Topic: Goals
Publication: Journal of Management
Article: The relevance and viability of subconscious goals in the workplace
Authors: G.P. Latham, A.D. Stajkovic, and E.A. Locke
Reviewed By: Benjamin Granger 

 Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably know that goal-setting is an effective strategy for improving employee performance.  What you might not know is that goal-setting research is moving outside of the boundaries of human consciousness.  That’s right, a new line of research has recently emerged on what is known as subconscious goal-setting.  Remember the stories of movie theaters mixing frames of popcorn in their previews clips to get the audience to visit the concession stand?  Subconscious goal setting works a bit like that.  Although it may sound a little ‘out there’, support is building for its effectiveness in the workplace. 

In a recent review of subconscious goal setting, Latham, Stajkovic, and Locke (2010) discuss the history of research on the human subconscious (outside of an employee’s conscious awareness – Freud may come to mind?!), reasons why management researchers have largely neglected it, and recent research on subconscious goal setting in work contexts. 

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Do Optimistic Predictions Lead to Quicker Completion Times? Sometimes…

Topic: Goals, Job Performance, Judgment
Publication: Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
Article: Finishing on time: When do predictions influence completion times?
Authors: R. Buehler, J. Peetz, and D. Griffin
Reviewed By: Benjamin Granger

 Past research has shown that human beings often underestimate the amount of time necessary for task completion (“I can finish this project by...”).  This optimistic bias has been consistently demonstrated in many work-related settings and most of the research has focused on why this happens.  However, a recent series of studies by Buehler, Peetz and Griffin (2010) investigated whether optimistic prediction times have the ability to improve actual completion times and if so, for what kinds of tasks?

Buehler et al. found that optimistic completion time predictions can have a positive impact on actual completion times, but it depends largely on the type of task/project.  For instance, the effect of optimistic predictions on completion times appears to be more favorable when tasks can be completed in a single session (e.g., short computer tutorial, writing a memo) vs. when tasks require multiple steps to be completed at different time points (e.g., launching an employee engagement survey, filing a federal tax return – ugh!).  Interestingly, Buehler et al. also found that the tendency to underestimate completion times was more prevalent for tasks that require multiple sessions. 

Ultimately, Buehler et al. concluded that optimistic completion time predictions can be useful for tasks/projects that require one shot.  However, optimistic completion time predictions appear to have little power for tasks that require multiple sessions over multiple time points.  Additionally, although predictions don’t always have a positive impact on completion times, they do to have a positive influence on task/project start times.  Thus, Buehler and colleagues conclude that completion time predictions initiate action early on, but apparently lose their power over time, especially for longer tasks/projects that require many sessions or steps.

Buehler, R., Peetz, J., & Griffin, D. (2010). Finishing on time: When do predictions influence completion times? Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 111, 23-32.

Brainwriting – a New Trend for Increased Innovation?

Topic: Creativity
Publication: Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology
Article: Better than brainstorming? Potential contextual boundary conditions to brainwriting for idea generation in organizations.
Author: P. A. Heslin
Reviewed By: Sarah Teague

 The generation of innovative ideas is essential to the success of modern organizations. In attempts to facilitate this idea generation, group brainstorming has become a fixture in many organizations today. The current article compiles a list of the potential limitations of brainstorming and describes why brainwriting may be more effective.

Brainstorming involves the oral sharing of ideas within a group. In such a setting, there are several factors that may prevent group members from sharing ideas. Some individuals may feel that their ideas are not good enough, or they may hold back to avoid upstaging their superiors. Additionally, the value of the process can be negatively impacted by those who contribute too much (monopolizing the conversation), as well as those who contribute too little due to a lack of accountability (social loafing). 

Brainwriting refers to the sharing of ideas among group members in a written form. The author cites evidence that suggests that this method could promote accountability and potentially eliminate the social pressures involved in a face-to-face group setting, thereby improving productivity. While the author strongly emphasizes the need for continued empirical research, this technique shows promise as a viable alternative to traditional brainstorming and builds on the adage that, “Two heads are better than one” – just not at the same time.    

Heslin, P. A. (2009). Better than brainstorming? Potential contextual boundary conditions to brainwriting for idea generation in organizations. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 82, 129-145.

Are Female Leaders Judged More Harshly than Male Leaders?

Topic: Leadership, Job Performance, Diversity
Publication: Journal of Applied Social Psychology
Article: Is Transformational Leadership Always Perceived as Effective? Male Subordinates’ Devaluation of Female Transformational Leaders.
Authors: Ayman, R., Korabik, K., and Morris, S.
Reviewed By: Samantha Paustian-Underdahl

 Amongst researchers and practitioners, one of the most popular leadership styles today is transformational leadership. Transformational leaders inspire their subordinates through motivational communication and action. They are generally concerned with promoting personal growth and development in their followers by challenging them to learn new skills and abilities.  But how is the perceived effectiveness of transformational leadership different for male and female leaders?

Ayman, Korabik, and Morris (2009) believe that women who use a transformational leadership style will be evaluated as less effective than their male counterparts who adopt the same style. This may be due to the gender stereotypes that are prevalent in our society - that leadership and masculinity go hand-in-hand. According to Eagly and Karau’s (2002) role congruency theory, when raters experience incongruence between the behavior they expect of a leader and what they expect of a woman, they under-value the female leader’s behavior and performance.

In a recent study, Ayman, Korabik, and Morris (2009) examined 109 leader-subordinate dyads in Canada. The relationship between a leader’s transformational leadership and their subordinates’ evaluation of their performance was significantly less positive for female leaders with male subordinates than for female leaders with female subordinates. However, when male leaders were evaluated, male and female subordinates rated their performance as equally effective, regardless of their levels of transformational leadership. 

The results of this study suggest that popular leadership styles like transformational leadership may not be equally effective for men and women. Male subordinates, as compared to female subordinates, were more negative in their evaluations when a female leader considered herself high on transformational leadership behaviors. This highlights the subtle biases female leaders face in diverse work settings. Female leaders should focus on understanding others’ perceptions of their behavior. Organizations can work to reduce these gender biases by promoting diversity training and the use of bias-free personnel feedback systems.

Ayman, R., Korabik, K., and Morris, S. (2009). Is Transformational Leadership Always Perceived as Effective? Male Subordinates’ Devaluation of Female Transformational Leaders. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 39 (4), 852-879.

Leading Employees by Involving Them Leads to Results

Topic: Leadership, Job Performance, Citizenship Behavior      
Publication: Journal of Organizational Behavior
Article: Does participative leadership enhance work performance by inducing empowerment or trust? The differential effects on managerial and non-managerial subordinates
Authors: X. Huang, J. Iun, A. Liu, and Y. Gong
Reviewed By: Benjamin Granger

 Isn’t it nice when our supervisors invite our ideas/opinions and include us in decision making?  Of course it is!  These kinds of supervisory behaviors are known as participative leadership behaviors and, not surprisingly, they tend to positively impact employee job performance.  Although this effect is expected for all employees, a recent study by Huang and colleagues (2010) suggests that the reasons why participative leadership behaviors lead to improved performance depends on a subordinate’s hierarchical level in the organization. 

In their study, Huang et al. collected a sample of 527 employees from a Fortune 500 telecommunications company in China.  As expected, they found that participative leadership behaviors of supervisors leads to improved task performance and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) of their subordinates.  But, as mentioned above, there appear to be slightly different reasons why these effects occur depending on the hierarchical level of the subordinate (i.e., managerial vs. non-managerial).  

Specifically, the effect of participative leadership behaviors on performance for managers appears to be due to psychological empowerment (i.e., feelings of competence and meaningfulness) whereas these effects are due to the trust placed in leaders for non-managerial employees. 

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Better Training Outcomes are just a Few Reminders Away

Topic: Training
Publication: Journal of Applied Psychology
Article: Sometimes you need a reminder: The effects of prompting self-regulation on regulatory processes, learning and attrition.
Authors: T. Sitzmann and K. Ely
Reviewed By: Benjamin Granger

 Have you ever taken a training course and noticed your mind wandering?  Or have you ever found that the decisions you made during training (“I already know this stuff, I think I’ll skip it”) weren’t exactly the best for facilitating your learning?  Don’t feel bad, you’re not alone.  Many adult trainees are guilty of the same bad habits.   

To address these problems, several researchers have begun exploring interventions that are expected to help trainees make better decisions during training, especially when given a great deal of control over their learning (characteristic of e-learning courses).  One intervention that is gaining in popularity is self-regulatory prompting which presents trainees with questions that are intended to focus their attention and behaviors toward learning the training content.  Self-regulatory prompts basically serve as periodic reminders to trainees.  It simply involves periodically presenting trainees with questions such as, “Am I concentrating on learning the training material?” and “Are the studying strategies I am using effective for learning the material?" 

Sitzmann and Ely found that this simple intervention does indeed lead to better learning and attrition as long as it is delivered continuously throughout the entire training course.  Additionally, Sitzmann and Ely found that continuous prompting leads trainees to learn more because trainees who receive continuous prompting spend more time on the training course. 

Overall, Sitzmann and Ely’s findings demonstrate that trainees can use a reminder every now and then, and even the simplest of interventions can have a big impact on training outcomes.

Sitzmann, T., & Ely, K. (2010). Sometimes you need a reminder: The effects of prompting self-regulation on regulatory processes, learning and attrition. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(1), 132-144.

Key to Good Boss-Employee Relationships: First Impressions and Then Performance

Topic: Leadership, Personality, Performance
Publication: Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
Article: The development of leader–member exchanges: Exploring how personality
and performance influence leader and member relationships over time.
Authors: Nahrgang, J.D., Morgeson, F.P., and Ilies, R.
Reviewed By: Samantha Paustian-Underdahl

 The relationships that form between leaders and their employees have been associated with a number of workplace outcomes including employee satisfaction, performance, and organizational citizenship behaviors. However, little research has examined how these leader-member relationships develop over time. Nahrgang, Morgeson, and Ilies (2009) followed 330 leader-member dyads over an eight-week period of time to see how personality and performance impacts the quality of these relationships.

The authors found that within each two-person team, there were different levels of leader-member relationship quality. In other words, some relationships between a leader and members were stronger than others. However, in general all relationship quality increased over time and then stabilized. The authors also found that leaders based their first impressions of each leader-member relationship on how extraverted each team member appeared to be. The members however based their first impressions of the relationship quality on how agreeable their leader seemed.

These perceptions changed after the leaders and members became more familiar with one another, however. Actual behavior, rather than personality became more important for relationship quality as the leaders and members interacted over time.

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