Month: June 2009

Crazy Leadership Findings

Topic: Emotions at Work, Leadership, Personality Publication: Personality and Individual Differences Article: The “dark” side of leadership personality and transformational leadership: an exploratory study. Blogger: LitDigger Are you tired of all the literature linking narcissism to leadership? Ready for a new spin? Well, buckle your safety belts and whirl around with me. A

Read you like a book: Employee attributes of HR practices

Topic: Job Attitudes, Organizational Performance, Strategic HR Publication: Personnel Psychology Article: Employee attributions of the “why” of HR practices: Their effects on employee attitudes and behaviors, and customer satisfaction. Blogger: Benjamin Granger A recent article by Nishii and colleagues explores how employees’ beliefs about “why” management employs certain HR practices (training, payment, selection, etc.) affect organizational performance.  Although

Work and Family Dinner Conflict: A New but Important Flavor

Topic: Work-life Balance Publication: Journal of Vocational Behavior Article: Workplace factors associated with family dinner behaviors. Blogger: Benjamin Granger It’s well-known that employees’ family and work roles often collide (and sometimes it ain’t pretty!). But researchers have only just begun to scratch the large surface that is work and family conflict. So let’s

Don’t Stress About the Job Search…Oh Wait, Maybe You Should!

Topic: Staffing, Stress Publication: International Journal of Selection and Assessment Article: The joint role of locus of control and perceived financial need in job search. Blogger: Benjamin Granger Not surprisingly, one of the most important predictors of finding employment is the intensity with which one searches for a job (Remember mom saying, “Get off the couch and go look

If I’m Bad, Then So Are You!

Topic: Feedback, Job Performance, Performance Appraisal Publication: International Journal of Selection and Assessment Article: The influence of a manager’s own performance appraisal on the evaluation of others. Blogger: Benjamin Granger Have you ever received a poor performance appraisal from a supervisor?  (Let’s hope not too many!)  If you have, were you surprised?  (Hey, I’m a pretty good employee! What

Who Wouldn’t Take the Money and Run?

Topic: Compensation, Culture, Organizational Commitment Article: When do committed employees retire?  The effects of organizational commitment on retirement plans under a defined benefit pension plan. Publication: Human Resource Management Blogger: Benjamin Granger Organizations commonly use defined-benefit pension plans in an effort to attract and retain good employees.  After all, turnover is expensive!  These plans usually allow employees to accrue retirement income

Doing what Simon Says Regarding Safety

Topic: Stress, Wellness, Work Environments Publication: Journal of Business Ethics Article: Ethical climates and workplace safety behaviors: an empirical investigation. Blogger: LitDigger How do you know that you won’t trip on the telephone cord your coworker has stretched across the entryway of your cubicle?  You don’t (until the inevitable happens).  How do you know whether or not workplace safety behaviors are actually practiced in your organization?  A study

Job Descriptions: Lost in Translation?

Topic: Decision Making, Job analysis Publication: Personnel Psychology Article: The transportability of job information across countries. Blogger: Larry Martinez I have never seen such a long article with no punch line. Taylor, Kan Shi, and Borman, armed with data from four different countries and elaborate theory-based hypotheses were at the beginning of a great rags-to-riches story (think the first 45 minutes of any Mighty Ducks

Anything you can do, I can do better

Topic: Feedback, Decision Making Publication:  Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes Article: Use of absolute and comparative performance feedback in absolute and comparative judgments and decisions. Blogger:  James Grand Few people missed Michael Phelps’ performance during this past Summer Olympics—8 gold medals in 8 races, setting 7 world records in the process (the one race he didn’t get the world record?