9.1.

1 Need Theories
Maslow’s Hierarchy (1943) comprises 5 basic needs; our needs determine our
actions, and we will always try to satisfy each level first therefore increasing motivation.
The levels are as follows:
1. Physiological Needs – Food, water, shelter, rest, air, warmth.
2. Safety Needs – Protection from threats, job security, health, and safety to work, and
financial security.
3. Social Needs – Trust, Acceptance, Friendship, belonging to a group.
4. Esteem Needs – Respect from others, Status, Recognition of achievements.
5. Self-Actualisation – Reaching one’s full potential. And accomplishing everything
you wanted to.

Maslow considered the first 4 levels as deficiency needs meaning that these needs are
how we get motivated to obtain something we don’t have, and the longer they are
unmet the stronger our motivation is. The last level of self-actualisation is a growth
need, here motivation turns into trying to grow as a person instead of obtaining
something.

What Maslow’s theory means in the WORKPLACE:

1. Physiological Needs – Having enough wages/income to buy food and pay for rent
etc.
2. Safety Needs – Contract of employment showing job security, pension, and having a
safe workplace that protects you from threats.
3. Social Needs – Feeling accepted and like an important part of an organization.
Good communication between workers to make them feel involved.
4. Esteem Needs – Recognition for work well done, status, advancement (promotions)
and responsibility lead to respect in the workplace.
5. Self-Actualisation – Challenge the employee and allow them to grow regularly but
also with greater autonomy and freedom from supervision

EXAMPLE CASE STUDY: SAEEDNIA (2011)

Saeednia (2011) tested Maslow's theory with a scale measuring basic needs
satisfaction among 30 participants. They interviewed them using open-ended questions
which produced qualitative data. The scale proved valid and reliable. Most
organizations address employees' basic needs like breaks and security through clear
rules and recognition. Meeting these needs can motivate employees to strive for higher
goals like self-actualization.

McClelland’s Theory of Achievement Motivation (1961)

McClelland identified three work-related innate motivation needs everyone has. These
are universal needs that everyone has regardless of age or gender, and we all need to
satisfy them. These motivators shape our behaviour at work.

• Achievement Motivation: These people have a desire to get things done and
accomplish things to be a success. Individuals will seek realistic and challenging goals
of job advancement. Those with high achievement needs would make the best leaders
within a workplace.
• Authority / Power Motivation: The desire to control others and be influential enough
to make an impact through the decision-making process as that is their motivation.
• Affiliation Motivation: Those with high affiliation needs want SOCIAL interactions
with others. They need to be liked by others, to be accepted as part of a group, and to
put effort into developing and maintaining social relationships.

EVALUATION OF NEED THEORIES:

Strengths:
1. McClelland's theory is that it can be used to find out the needs of potential and
current employees. This allows managers to place people into areas in which they can
excel.
2. Maslow’s theory and Self-actualisation for Maslow refer to the desire for self
fulfilment, which can be met in many ways, either individualist like becoming a parent or
situational and achieving your goals through work.

Weaknesses:
1. The theories are very difficult to test out since they are very theoretical. McClelland’s
theory used projective tests (ambiguous ink blots and the response to those stimuli
reveals true hidden motions or conflicts that one projects onto the image)
2. Maslow's theory may not be valid as he assumes that lower needs must be met
before you can move on to higher-level needs. But those in poverty may not meet the
first two tiers yet still show love and belonging (tiers 3 and 4)
Issues and Debates:
Reductionism Versus Holism: Maslow’s is very holistic as it states not just
physiological needs are important but also psychological needs, so it considers many
factors and it’s a more complete theory.
Application to everyday Life: Both theories have made a large contribution to
organisational psychology and increasing motivation in the workplace. Therefore,
employers can use the theory to ensure that workers feel safe and have a stable wage,
meaning that they will feel more motivated, making the theory useful.
Cultural Differences: Between populations and cultures, the way safety or social
needs can differ from country to country. Maslow’s theory assumes self-actualisation is
the same in all cultures and McClelland’s theory doesn’t consider gender as it was
made using males working in organizations of Western societies, so perhaps females
from Asian countries wouldn’t be able to relate to it.
9.1.2 Cognitive Theories
Latham and Locke’s – Goal Setting theory. (1980s)
Locke (1968) / Locke (1981) suggested GOAL SETTING was a key motivator in getting
people to work hard. SMART goals are more effective than more general goals.
1. Specific: Make your goals well-defined, clear, and not too complex to understand.
2. Measurable: The goals should have a specific criterion to track progress.
3. Achievable: The goal needs to be easy enough to achieve but challenging enough to
stimulate motivation. It shouldn’t be something you can’t do.
4. Realistic: Think of the big picture. Ask yourself why you are setting the goal that
you’re setting.
5. Time Bound: How much time do you have to achieve the goal, have you given
yourself enough time to see it through with a clear start and end date?

Locke and Latham (1984) suggest that setting SPECIFC goals produces higher levels
of performance rather than VAUGE goals. Specific goals are harder to achieve and
present a greater challenge which makes an individual want to try harder. The goal
setting theory provides guidance on how to set goals, there are 5 key principles referred
to as the 4CF:
1. Clarity: Goals should be clear, specific, and unambiguous.
2. Challenge: The goal setter should feel like they are being stretched thin so then
when they achieve it feels like a reward.
3. Complexity: Break down goals into separate tasks to be achieved at different times
4. Commitment: Goals should be understood and accepted to be effective and not
given up on during the last-minute
5. Feedback: Must be given to assess progress and achievement

Vroom's Expectancy (VIE) theory of motivation (1964)

Vroom's expectancy theory states that an individual's motivation at work is influenced by

their expectations of future outcomes. It suggests that people make rational choices to
maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Motivation hinges on three key factors:
1. Valence: This refers to the perceived value of the reward. It considers whether the
reward is desirable and satisfies a need, whether intrinsic (like a sense of achievement)
or extrinsic (like money or a gift card).
2. Instrumentality: This factor assesses the belief that if one performs well, the
expected outcome or reward will occur and will be equivalent to the effort put in. It's
influenced by factors like trust in decision-makers, transparency in reward allocation
processes, and the clarity of the relationship between performance and outcomes.
3. Expectancy: Expectancy refers to the perception that effort will lead to the intended
performance goals or outcomes. It's influenced by factors such as skill level, access to
resources and information, and support from others.

Vroom's formula for motivation is Motivation = Valence × Instrumentality × Expectancy.

If any of these factors are low, motivation will be low. The theory emphasizes the
importance of tailored rewards and clear connections between effort, performance, and
outcomes to enhance motivation at work.

EVALUATION OF COGNITIVE THEORIES:

Strengths:
1. Locke and Latham’s theory is supported by 50 years of evidence-based research and
is still used in the industry today. The theory is high in RELIABILITY and APPLICATION
TO REAL LIFE, which helps improve motivation for workers and managers.
2. Vroom's theory can predict the choices people will make. REDMOND (2009)
suggested that valence, instrumentality, and expectations are correlated highly in terms
of predictability.

Weaknesses:
1. Vroom's theory assumes people will always make rational and conscious choices
when that is not usually the case.
2. Vroom's theory also does not always apply to real life. This is because often within
the workplace, rewards are not correlated directly with performance, so the
instrumentality factor is useless

Issues and Debates:

Reductionism vs. Holism: Locke and Latham’s theory is reductionist as it doesn’t
consider other factors like physiological needs or the importance of past experiences
just the cognitive factors of just setting clear goals.
Cultural Differences: Locke and Latham’s theory is based upon values that are found in
individualistic Western societies, and so more collectivist cultures where the workplace
is different may not relate to this as much.
Individual and Situational Explanations: Vroom's theory suggests individual factors like
personality and skills are more important to performance at work.
 9.1.3 Motivation at Work
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivators:

Intrinsic: something that comes from within; internal. It’s a sense of satisfaction or
achievement that comes from the actual performance of the task rather than the
consequences of completing the task. It also focuses on internal emotions and is when
behaviour is driven by factors such as the feeling of satisfaction at reaching a target,
recognition from a manager and praise.

Types of intrinsic motivators: Praise, respect, recognition, empowerment, and a

sense of belonging, these are important as they act as positive reinforcement.

Staff turnover (the number of employees that leave a business in a given time) has
been found to reduce if they are given intrinsic non-monetary rewards. BROWN and
ARMSTRONG (1999) discovered that fostering positive relationships and showing
appreciation reduce turnover and increase satisfaction. ROSE (1998) estimated that
75% of UK organizations utilize non-monetary recognition schemes, demonstrating their
widespread adoption and effectiveness.

Extrinsic: something that comes from the outside; external. It’s a sense of motivation
that provides an external reward like money, promotions, or bonuses.

Types of extrinsic motivators: pay, bonuses, profit sharing, & performance-related

pay.

• Pay linked to performance can incentivize employees to work harder or faster for
increased earnings.
• Bonuses, especially in sectors like finance, can be substantial supplements to
salaries.
• Profit sharing distributes a portion of company profits among workers, fostering a
sense of belonging and potentially boosting motivation. However, such systems may
not apply universally, especially in non-profit-oriented sectors like healthcare and
education. The effectiveness of monetary rewards in enhancing productivity is debated
A paper by DE WAAL and JANSEN (2011), indicates positive benefits of
performance-related pay (BELFIELD & MARDSEN, 2005). Additionally, the paper also
cites how the growth of productivity in Chinese State industries could be attributed to
the use of bonuses (YAO, 1997). Other Studies from the UK like DUFFHUES and
KABIR (2008) found no correlation between the size of bonus payments and
performance.

Self-Determination Theory – Deci and Ryan (1985):

Self-determination is a theory of motivation concerned with intrinsic needs and personal
growth. Deci and Ryan found that the following innate psychological needs are essential
to self-determination:
1. Autonomy: The desire for control and independence. Autonomy increases when
workers have freedom in how they monitor and manage their behaviour but decreases if
they feel controlled by others or face constant deadlines.
2. Relatedness: The need to form connections and feel a sense of belonging within a
social group. Without these connections, achieving self-determination becomes
challenging due to feelings of isolation and lack of support. Respect and positive
relationships increase relatedness, while criticism or exclusion decreases it.
3. Competence: The possession of necessary skills and qualities to effectively perform
tasks. Competence enables individuals to interact effectively with their environment and
achieve their goals. Negative feedback or tasks beyond one's abilities can decrease
competence, while positive feedback and well-matched tasks increase it.

Offering extrinsic rewards for something someone already enjoys can make them feel
less in control and cause them to rely on those rewards, rather than their intrinsic
motivation, to continue the behaviour. This shift from doing a task intrinsically to
extrinsically because of a reward can make an individual feel like they're no longer
choosing to engage in the behaviour because they want to, but rather because they're
being incentivized to do so.

EVALUATION OF MOTIVATORS AT WORK:

Strengths: All theories can be applied to real life it is useful for managers of teams and
organisations when considering what motivates their workers.

Weaknesses: self-report methods to assess the importance of extrinsic and intrinsic

needs might be subject to social desirability bias. This jeopardizes validity.

Issues and Debates:

-​ Individual and Situational: For motivators at work individual differences are key
because what motivates one person may not motivate another. Secondly,
comparing
-​ individualistic and collectivist cultures: Workers’ motivation can be determined by
the culture in which they work.
KEY STUDY NAME: LANDRY ET AL (2019)

Applying self-determination to understand the motivational impact of cash rewards.

Aim : To see the effect of an individual's motivation and performance when a reward
was presented as either supporting or controlling.

Main Theories Explained:

Monetary rewards are extrinsic motivators that ensure productivity and encourage staff
retention. But these kinds of rewards come at high costs to employers.

Deci and Ryan’s 1985 self-determination theory suggested that motivation is primarily
intrinsic and so rewards should be meaningful so that they support our
PSYCHOLOGICAL needs of competence, autonomy, and relatedness.

Method (Research method & design):

• Independent measures design
• Laboratory Experiment
• Randomly assigned into either condition.
• Independent Variable operationalised as either ‘autonomy threatening' or
'autonomy-supported'. (Type of reward offered for participation.)
• Self-report measures were used.

Sample:
123 French-speaking students from a Canadian university, 60% of whom were female.
The students had a mean age of 23 years and were a volunteer sample who gave their
informed consent to participate.

Procedure :
• Participants were divided into two groups: one receiving autonomy-supportive
instructions and the other receiving autonomy-controlling instructions. The
autonomy-supportive group was offered a reward as a token of appreciation, while the
autonomy-controlling group was told the reward was to reinforce performance
standards.
• After reading instructions, participants completed a self-report measuring the
satisfaction of their psychological needs and reported their intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation.

Results
1. Self-report measures revealed:
- Autonomy-supported psychological need satisfaction positively correlated with intrinsic
motivation and performance.
- Autonomy-supported psychological need satisfaction
negatively correlated with extrinsic motivation.
- Autonomy-controlled psychological need frustration negatively correlated with intrinsic
motivation and performance.
- Autonomy-controlled psychological need frustration positively correlated with extrinsic
motivation.
2. Presenting rewards in a manner that supports autonomy leads to:
- Better performance on tasks, such as the anagram task, compared to methods that
control or threaten autonomy.
- Enhanced intrinsic motivation over extrinsic motivation.

Conclusions
- Utilizing rewards that bolster psychological needs can:
- Increase intrinsic motivation.
- Improve overall employee performance more effectively than rewards that undermine
psychological needs.

Strengths
-Control measures used increasing standardisation -Quantitative data was produced, for
e.g. self-report using likert scale this data is object and allows statistical tests to be used
and comparisons to be made, increasing the reliability of the results.
-Informed consent was gained and confidentiality was maintained, there was also no
suggestion of distress or psychological harm

Weaknesses
-Sampling Bias: even though a large number of 123 participants was used they all
came from the same course and same Canadian uni; therefore, they all have similar
characteristics and findings cannot be generalised to anyone from diff culture or diff uni
etc.
-Use of laboratory experiments. This study took place in an artificial environment rather
than in a real workplace this lowers ecological validity.

Issues and Debates

- Individual and situational explanations: Landry et al. explore whether motivation stems
from personal satisfaction or situational factors like monetary rewards, emphasizing the
importance of both in workplace performance.
- Reductionism versus holism: The study is criticized for its reductionist view, focusing
solely on self-determination in performance and neglecting other factors like personality
and experience, contrasting with a holistic approach that considers broader influences.
- Idiographic versus nomothetic: Utilizing a nomothetic approach, Landry et al. seek
general laws about workplace performance through experimental methodology,
overlooking individual uniqueness and context
9.2.1 Traditional and Modern Theories of Leadership

Universalist Theories:
• Great person theory: (Thomas Carlyle 1840) - States leaders are born with certain
traits that enable them to rise to power and lead according to instincts. The greatest
leader will arise when there is the greatest need.
• Charismatic leadership theory: Below are the key traits of charismatic leaders:
1. Charisma: They possess the ability to attract and influence followers.
2. Popularity: They can build relationships and connections with others.
3. Environmental Sensitivity: They are adept at identifying threats, risks, and
opportunities in their surroundings.
4. Communication Skills: They inspire others by effectively sharing their vision.
5. Respected and Adored: Followers hold them in high esteem and willingly follow their
guidance.
6. High-Performance Standards: They set demanding benchmarks for both themselves
and others.
• Transformational Leadership Theory: This is the ability to produce a significant
change in a situation. A Transformational leader motivates and energizes their
followers to reach goals by focusing on their needs. They inspire positive change,
fostering a sense of individual and group responsibility. By linking followers' identities
with the organization, they boost motivation and performance.

Behavioural Theories of Leadership:

Behavioural theories of leadership emphasize specific behaviours exhibited by
leaders rather than inherent personal qualities.
• Researchers at Ohio State University, such as STOGDILL & COONS (1957), analysed
data from various studies to identify over 100 different leader behaviours. These
behaviours were categorized into two main types:
1. Initiating structure: This category involves tasks such as allocating responsibilities,
setting goals, establishing deadlines, and ensuring standards are met.
2. Consideration: Leaders demonstrating consideration exhibit genuine concern for
workers' feelings, establish rapport, show trust and respect, listen to workers, and aim to
boost self-confidence.

Similarly, studies at the University of Michigan identified two main types of leader
behaviours:
1. Production orientation: These behaviours focus on task completion, including setting
targets, supervising progress, and maintaining standards, aligning with the concept of
initiating structure.
2. Employee orientation: Leaders in this category focus on the well being of the
workforce, examining and understanding interpersonal relationships among workers
and between workers and managers, which parallels the consideration aspect of
leadership behaviour.

Adaptive Challenges Heifetz Principles (2009):

They define leadership as the art of mobilizing people in an organization to tackle tough
issues adapt and thrive.
It states that leadership has to change instead of providing solutions the leader should
shift responsibility for change TO THE WORKFORCE. This may be difficult for some
employees as they would need to take on new roles and learn skills. The role of an
adaptive leader is to allow disorientation, conflict, and challenge to create a business
that can SURVIVE.

Heifetz et al offer 6 principles of an adaptive leader.

1. Get on the balcony: the leader needs to see the whole picture and view the
organisation as if they were observing from above.
2. Identify the adaptive change: they need to see the nature and extent of change.
3. Regulate Distress: change will be scary for all stakeholders; this cannot be avoided
but it can be managed so that it's motivating and not overwhelming.
4. Maintain disciplined attention: the leader should be open to contrasting points of view
and avoid covering up issues that are disturbing or difficult.
5. Give work back to the people: encouraging employees to use their expertise to solve
problems. It acknowledges that this shift may be difficult for those used to traditional
management but it’s essential to improve organizational potential.
6. Protect voices of leadership from below: Traditional leadership stifles dissent, while
adaptive leadership values diverse perspectives to anticipate and tackle challenges.

EVALUATION OF TRADITIONAL AND MODERN THEORIES OF

LEADERSHIP:

Strengths:
1. Ohio State Uni work and Uni of Michigan bring together huge amounts of data from a
wide range of org. and individuals, making it highly generalisable
Weaknesses:
1. The Heifetz model lacks empirical research studies so there is a lack of evidence,
and debatable whether it's generalisable/valid and even if it can be applied to real life.
Issues and Debates:
Nature vs Nurture: Great person theory ASSUMES that leadership comes from being
born with certain traits (no genetic or biological evidence to support this theory)
Application to everyday life: Traditional, modern, behaviourist and adaptive theories of
leadership theories have been applied within organisations all over the world.
Individual and Situational: Heifetz's principles understand that workplaces are dynamic
and often changing with new problems arising.
9.2.3 Leaders and Followers
Leadership Practices Inventory – Kouzes and Posner (1987)
Kouzes and Posner argue leadership is a measurable, learnable, and teachable set of
behaviours. So, they developed the Leadership practice inventory (LPI) to measure the
extent to which an individual engages in each of the 5 exemplary examples of
leadership that they established through research based on thousands of case studies,
a large number of interviews and millions of survey questionnaires.

Kouzes and Posner identified five key practices of exemplary leadership:

1. Model the Way: Leaders should set an example, be clear about their beliefs, remain
honest and humble, and understand the importance of teamwork.
2. Inspire a Shared Vision: Effective leaders have a vision for the future and inspire
others to share that vision. They are forward-looking and credible.
3. Challenge the Process: Leaders actively seek opportunities, take risks, and
experiment. They challenge the status quo and are not afraid of failure.
4. Enable Others to Act: This involves fostering collaboration, empowering others to
make decisions, and creating trustworthy relationships within the team.
5. Encourage the Heart: Leadership isn't just about intellect but also about emotion.
Leaders recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of others, inspiring them
through recognition and rewards.

Kouzes and Posner developed the Leadership Practice Inventory (LPI) to measure
these practices. It consists of two parts: the LPI self, completed by the leader, and the
LPI observer, completed by up to 10 others. Both versions comprise 30 questions, each
focusing on the five practices, rated on a ten-point scale.

EVALUATION OF LEADER AND FOLLOWERS:

Strengths:
1. The Likert 10-point scale allows for easy analysis since it uses quantitative data,
which is more objective and not subject to experimenter bias and therefore is more
reliable. 2. Kouzes and Posner (1993) involved 2876 managers and observers from a
wide variety of organisations; the results did not show gender bias, there were no
significant signs of social desirability, and the LPI is applicable across organisations.
Weakness:
1. Psychometric test usage in Kouzes and Posner may be subject to social desirability
bias and also exaggeration and lying. Therefore, the results of the study do not
measure the practices accurately, lowering the validity of the measure.
Issues and Debates:
Cultural differences: Kouzes and Posner's Leadership Practice Inventory (LPI) may
overlook cultural differences, limiting its generalizability, Studies have shown significant
score differences in the LPI across cultures, indicating a weakness in its ability to
generalize beyond specific cultural contexts.
Idiographic vs. Nomothetic: LPI follows a nomothetic approach but initially uses both
qualitative and quantitative methods.
Application to real life: Organizations can use the LPI to identify areas for leadership
improvement, benefiting both leaders and followers.

Followership – Kelley (1988):

The outcome of a group's endeavours is not entirely based on how good the leader is;
it also relies on the followers' ability to follow effectively.

Kelley identified two dimensions that elucidate followership: independent critical

thinking and the degree of activity. Independent critical thinkers are discerning and
questioning their surroundings, while the active-passive dimension distinguishes those
who wait for direction from those who proactively pursue organizational goals.

This framework yields five follower styles:

1. The Sheep: Passive and reliant on external motivation, they perform tasks without
initiative or critical thinking.
2. The Yes-People: Committed and conformist, they support the leader without
questioning decisions and defend them against opposition.
3. The Survivors: Adapt to changes and avoid controversy, waiting for majority support
before taking a stand
4. The Alienated Followers: Negative and critical, they question the leader's decisions
but often remain passive.
5. The Effective Followers: Positive, active, and independent thinkers who evaluate
decisions before accepting them, capable of thriving even without direct leadership.

Kelley talked about what makes a good follower and said there are four important
things:
1. Self-Management: This means being able to think for yourself, work on your own,
and control what you do.
2. Commitment: It's like being dedicated to what the group or organization is trying to
do. This keeps you motivated and excited about the goals.
3. Competence: This is about having the skills needed to get things done. It's like being
really good at what you do and always trying to get better.
4. Courage: This is about sticking to your beliefs and doing what's right, even when it's
hard or when others might not agree. It's about being honest and loyal.

Strength: Kelley has research evidence to support idea of exemplary followership

leading to high performance. FAVARA (2009) studied 175 workers in an org. using
questionnaires and found that there was a positive correlation in job satisfaction and
performance with exemplary leadership.

Application to everyday life: Kelleys followership theory shows organisations what an

effective follower is and how it can be obtained which is very useful for increasing
morale and productivity
 9.2.2 Leadership Style
Muczyk and Reimann’s Four Styles of Leadership (1987):
1. Autocratic Leadership: behaviour style in which the leader controls all the decisions
with no input or help from others.
2. Democratic Leadership: behaviour style in which the leader includes
employees/groups in the decision-making process.
3. Directive: behaviour style with a high amount of leader direction.
4. Permissive: behaviour style with a low amount of leader direction.

Scoullers levels of leadership (2011):

Scouller proposes the 3P model of leadership, emphasizing three key elements: public,
private, and personal leadership.
Public leadership involves influencing groups, while Private leadership focuses on
individuals within a team.
Personal leadership encompasses the psychological and ethical development of a
leader, including their skills, beliefs, and presence. Scouller highlights personal
leadership as the most influential level, likening its impact to ripples spreading from a
pebble dropped in a pond. Developing personal leadership involves enhancing
technical skills, cultivating the right attitude toward others, and mastering psychological
aspects.
Leadership Style and Gender:
Researchers are interested in the differences between males' and females’ leadership
styles and the effect of those styles.

KEY STUDY CUADRADO ET AL. (2008) – WOMENS ACCESS TO

MANAGERIAL POSITIONS AND LEADERSHIP STYLES / GENDER

Aim
1- The study aimed to investigate how the gender of leaders and their use of
stereotypical or non-stereotypical leadership styles affect work evaluations.
2- It also sought to determine if the evaluator's gender influenced evaluations.

Hypothesis
Four hypotheses were tested:
1. Female leaders using stereotypically masculine behaviours will receive less
favourable evaluations than male leaders.
2. Male leaders using stereotypically feminine behaviours will not receive less
favourable evaluations than female leaders.
3. Female leaders will receive less favourable evaluations from male evaluators
compared to female evaluators.
4. Male leaders will receive similar evaluations from both male and female evaluators.

Main Theories Explained

The "glass ceiling effect," is an invisible barrier preventing women's advancement, this
is a key focus. Furthermore, gender disparity in leadership positions is particularly
evident in organizations like the UK National Health Service (NHS), where women
make up a majority of the workforce but only 37% hold senior roles. Women tend to
use less effective leadership styles or risk facing prejudice if they adopt stereotypically
male behaviours. This study explores how women are evaluated less favourably when
they exhibit autocratic and task-oriented styles typically associated with men.

Sample:
136 second year social psychology students From the national open university of Spain,
53% female – mean age 27 and 47% male – mean age 29.

Method (Research method & design):

• Laboratory experiment
• Independent groups design
• Independent variable – 1- sex of leader and 2- sex of evaluator (female or male) 3-
leadership style (female-stereotypical or male-stereotypical).
• Dependant variables: adjective list, leadership efficacy: the ability of a leader to
produce a desired outcome and leadership capacity: the attitude and knowledge
required for effective leadership.
• The anonymous questionnaire used, a 7-point Likert scale with 1= never applicable to
the leader, 7= always applicable to the leader.

Procedure
A pilot study using 40 participants was carried out before the main study to test all
aspects of the investigation. Participants were tasked with evaluating a supervisor from
an emergency medical service. Depending on their assigned experimental condition,
participants assessed either a male or female supervisor who had been in their role for
a trial period. They read a description of the supervisor's behaviour and completed an
anonymous questionnaire to evaluate their work. The description varied based on the
leader's gender (male "Carlos" or female "Lucia") and leadership style (stereotypically
masculine/autocratic or stereotypically feminine/democratic), with four different versions
presented.

After reading the narrative, participants completed an anonymous questionnaire to aid

in the evaluation process. The questionnaire included several measures:
1. Participants rated the supervisor using a seven-point scale based on fourteen
adjectives, seven positive (e.g., intelligent, honest) and seven negatives (e.g., careless,
bossy).
2. The supervisor's leadership capacity was assessed using a seven-point scale with
four items, including evaluations of their general leadership capacity and competence
as a supervisor.
3. Leadership effectiveness was measured with a seven-point scale and five items,
including evaluations of the supervisor's achievement and performance in their role.

Results
• Contrary to expectations, supervisors using a stereotypically feminine leadership style
were favoured over those using a stereotypically masculine style by both male and
female evaluators.
• The democratic, feminine leadership style received higher scores across measures of
adjective ratings, leadership capacity, and performance efficacy for both male and
female leaders.
• There were no statistically significant differences in ratings based on the gender of the
evaluator or the gender of the leader.
Conclusions
- Female leaders do not face less favourable evaluations compared to males when
employing stereotypically male leadership styles.
- There is no bias from males towards leaders of their sex.
- Stereotypically female leadership styles are valued more than stereotypically
masculine styles in contemporary organizations.
- Autocratic, stereotypically masculine leadership is evaluated less favourably than
democratic, stereotypically feminine leadership by both male and female evaluators,
potentially reflecting a shift in organizational preferences towards more collaborative
and inclusive leadership approaches.

Strengths
• Quantitative data collection through rating scales enhances the objectivity and
reliability of measurements - Data
• Standardized procedure ensures consistency across participants, aiding replication
and reliability of the study - Reliability
• Lab Experiment means extraneous variables and more controls increase internal
validity and validity overall - Validity

Weaknesses
• The use of a narrative task may not have mundane realism and fail to capture real-life
workplace dynamics. The study lacks ecological validity as it does not reflect real-world
workplace evaluation processes. - EV
• The sample consisting of psychology students from one university in Spain may limit
generalizability due to cultural and demographic biases.The study's sample may not
accurately represent the wider population and may introduce bias into the results. -
Generalizability
• The reliance on self-report measures may limit the study's reliability due to social
desirability bias, participants may answer in a way they deem is the desired answer,
and psychology students are smart enough to develop demand characteristics. - Self
Report

Issues and Debates

• Application to everyday life: The study's findings suggest practical implications for
organizations, highlighting the value of feminine leadership styles.c
• Idiographic versus nomothetic: The study takes a nomothetic approach, focusing on
general patterns, but lacks detailed insights into individual reasons behind evaluations.
• Reductionism versus holism: The study's approach to breaking down complex
behaviour into rating scales and adjectives is reductionist, limiting insight into individual
motivations.
EVALUATION OF LEADERSHIP STYLES:
Strengths:
1. Standardized questionnaires for both Muczyk and Scouller increase reliability.
2. The theory suggests that to be an effective theory you need to consider cultural
aspects of leadership and that autocracy and directive leadership may be more
applicable to non-American cultures than democratic leadership.

Weaknesses:
1. Questionnaire validity is dependent on how accurately leaders and followers can
assess their behaviour; they both can also be influenced by social desirability bias.
2. Scoullers three levels cannot be tested since leadership presence is not a common
personality characteristic, the clear basis of quantitative measurement of the 3PS is
vague and unscientific.
3. Scoullers work focuses on traditional Western values and work structures that
influence aspects like self-mastery, appraisal, and goal setting. However, these may not
apply universally across all cultures and types of work.

Issues and Debates:

Individual and Situational: Muczyk consider the relationship between leader and
situation directly, so they look at both factors making leadership styles effective in
different situations.
Nature vs. Nurture: The 3P Model by Scouller is nurture, leadership presence cannot be
defined by common predetermined qualities or behaviours.
Application to real life: Muczyk and Reimann's contributions to organizations are very
valuable as they emphasize the importance of matching leadership styles to the
situation and groups, which is important in decision-making and implementation of
leadership.
9.3.1 Group Development and Decision Making
Group development and decision-making:
An organisation can be thought of as one large group of individuals but there are many
groups within that of varying sizes. Psychologists are interested in how groups form,
establish roles and make decisions.

EXAMPLE STUDY: TUCKMAN AND JENSEN (2010)

A famous psychologist BRUCE TUCKMAN (1965) founded Tuckman’s stages of
development; he suggested that all groups go through these 5 stages:
1. Forming Stage: Initial uncertainty about purpose and roles; reliance on the leader for
guidance. Members are treated as strangers.
2. Storming Stage: Conflict emerges as boundaries are challenged; Each member
views themselves as an individual rather than a team so differences in working styles
surface, and resistance to leadership + hostility is seen.
3. Norming Stage: Differences resolved; Feel as if they are part of a team; commitment
to goals strengthened if they accept other viewpoints.
4. Performing Stage: Peak efficiency; fluid roles; differences utilized for enhanced
performance. The team works in an open and trusting atmosphere and flexibilityis key.
5. Adjourning Stage: Natural conclusion; the team assesses the year andimplements a
plan for transitioning roles.

Belbin’s Nine Team Roles (1981):

Meredith Belbin proposes that an ideal team consists of people who are prepared to
take on different roles. They are summarized below:
Faulty decision-making:
Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon observed in group settings, where the
desire for harmony or conformity (conformity is showing behaviours of beliefs that
MATCH those of the rest in a group) within the group leads to irrational or dysfunctional
decision-making outcomes. Essentially, it describes a situation where a group
collectively makes a decision that individuals within the group might not have made
independently.

JANIS (1971) found 8 features of groupthink:

1. llusions of invulnerability → members believe they can do no wrong and won’t face
any trouble; leads to overly optimistic thinking and risky decision-making
2. Illusions of unanimity → members view the lack of questions regarding their
decisions as a sign of unanimity; the sense of a unified front makes it hard for others to
present a dissenting opinion
3. Mind-guards → members act as “self-appointed” gatekeepers, shielding the leader
from different opinions, they keep any outside influence or disagreement that can
negatively impact group identity
4. Self-censorship → in a group situation, it is less likely to listen to our own doubts as
no one else seems to be dwelling in them either. This repression of doubts prevents one
from being at odds with the group
5. Rationalizing → members ignore any warning or external information as paying
attention to them may make them to reconsider their existing structure of beliefs and
opinions
6. Unquestioned beliefs → a lack of questioning, especially from a moral and legal
standpoint, can lead to members disregarding the consequences of their own actions
7. Stereotyping → in-group members may hold stereotypical views about people with
dissenting opinions or who raise issues (out-group - a group to which an individual
does not belong in the actual group) - this negative bias towards those who are much
more inquisitive reduces the chances critical assessment of the current structure of
beliefs
8. Direct pressure to conform → groups can place the out-group into a great deal of
pressure by especially placing them under negative limelight as disloyal and traitorous

Group think is more likely to occur when:

• Members are similar to each other (homogeneity)
• The group is highly cohesive and members become deindividualized
• The leader is extremely charismatic
• The situation is highly stressful and morally challenging

Group think can be reduced when:

• Members are given the opportunity and encouraged to express their views and argue
against the current status quo
• Leaders should avoid stating their view too forcefully
• Leaders should avoid stating their view way too early
• Have a “devil’s advocate” in the group who deliberately brings up the opposing view of
the leader, to encourage critical perspectives

Weakness: A weakness is the lack of support empirical research. Aldag and Fuller
(1993) noted that support for groupthink tends to come from retrospective case studies,
and these are subject to bias and faulty memory. In addition, the case studies involved
political decision-making at the highest level, which is not typically a real-life
organisational situations.

EVALUATION of Janis’ theory of Groupthink

• Applicable to real-life → the features of groupthink highlighted by Janis gives
organisations an idea of what to avoid and the negative outcomes of group-think
• Individual Vs. Situational → explains the phenomena of faulty decision-making as a
result of environmental factors. It ignores any dispositional traits of team-members that
may lead to group-think.

Forsyth's Cognitive limitations and errors

bias → systematical errors in thinking that happen when people are interpreting
information. Cognitive bias affects the decisions and judgements all of us make

Forsyth (2006) suggests 3 categories of potential biases that may affect group
decision-making:
Sins of Commission → misuse of information that has been shown to be false, in the
decision-making process
• Belief perseverance: using information that is already shown to be inaccurate
• Sunken cost bias: plan may be flawed but still continued because of investment of
time, money and efforts
• Extra-evidentiary bias: group chooses to use information that is told to be ignored
• Hindsight bias: group falsely overestimates the importance of past information

Sins of Omission → overlooking key information

• Base rate bias: unintentionally ignoring very basic relevant information
• Fundamental attribution error: people pay less attention to situational explanations
for behaviour and over-emphasise dispositional (internal attributed characteristics)
explanations
Sins of Imprecision → relying too heavily on biases and heuristics that over-simplifies
complex decisions
• Availability heuristic: over-reliance on information most easily and readily available
• Conjunctive bias: failing to consider relationships between events
• Representativeness heuristic: group members rely too heavily on decision-making
factors that may appear meaningful based on similar experiences but are actually
misleading

STRATEGIES TO AVOID COGNITIVE ERRORS AND STRATEGIES TO AVOID

CONFIRMATION BIAS - GO THROUGH TB

Strength: A strength is that the theory had been suppoted by research. Ex: Osmani
(2016) looked at the effect of heuristics an cognitive biases on group decision-making
and found that confirmation bias is more common in groups than in individuals when
making decisions. The results provide support to the idea that cognitive errors play a
significant role in faulty decision-making, making the theory reliable.

EVALUATION of Forsyth’s theory of Cognitive Limitations

• Applicable to real-life → examining cognitive limitations and errors in even more detail
would be valuable to an organization that makes frequent decisions. Acknowledging
errors allows organizations to increase their precision and accuracy in decision-making
• Reductionism VS Holism: A weakness is that it can be said to be reductionist. This is
where complex behaviours are broken down into it's simplest form. In this case,
suggesting that cognitive errors are the reason for faulty decision-making is reductionist.
• Cultural Differences: a weakness I'd that it fails to the into account cultural differences.
It may be that some of the cognitive errors suggested in the theory only apply to
Western, individualistic cultures rather than collectivist cultures.
 9.3.2 Individual and Group Performance
This topic is based on the assumptions of the SOCIAL APPROACH:
• Our behaviour, emotions, and cognitions can be influenced by the actual, implied or
imagined presence of others
• All of our behaviour, emotions and cognitions can be influenced by social contexts and
social environments

Social Facilitation → when people show increased performance/effort in the real or

imagined presence of others
There are two types of social facilitation:
• Co-action effect → a person demonstrates improved performance when doing the
same task alongside others; it encourages accountability and focus through the
presence of another person operating towards the same objective * (only if it is a task
one is familiar with)
Social inhibition → a person performs worse by the presence of others due to
attempting a new or difficult task
• Audience effect → a person demonstrates improved performance in the presence of
passive (not undertaking a similar task) observers to the individual

Two factors affecting social faciliation:

1. Evaluation apprehension → a person experiences arousal from an audience who
may show approval or disapproval of their performance
When others are present, one becomes anxious of what the audience thinks of them.
Would there be approval or disapproval? This influence can improve performance and
this is called evaluation apprehension.
2. Drive theory → a person experiences increased internal motivation to reach a goal.
These drivers can be primary (survival) or secondary (learned)
Zajonc (1966) explains that social facilitation theory is underpinned by “drive theory” in
which people are aroused by the challenging and/or audience aspect of the task and
feel compelled to finish the task
A dominant response is the most probable in the present of an array of stimuli
When one faces a routine, easy task, the dominant response will usually be a correct
choice
When one faces a challenging task, drive theory suggests that the arousal produced by
an audience is stressful and drives us to choose the incorrect dominant responses to
the task
Social Loafing → when people show decreased performance/effort in the real or
imagined presence of others than they would alone. This is more prevalent when people
feel that their behavior is not being closely watched.
Max Ringelmann studied agricultural workers and found that although groups
outperform individuals, groups usually do not perform as well as they could if each
individual was performing at maximum capacity → the whole is less than the sum of its
parts
The cause of social loafing can be explained through social impact theory
Social Impact Theory
Individuals can be a source and target of social influence → one can exert social
pressure over others or be subject to social pressure
Insufficient supervision by a manager = lower strength, immediacy and number of
influencing people
Latane treats this theory as a social law that has three rules of social impact.
1. Social Force (SIN)
i = f (SIN) ——> impact = f (Strength x Immediacy x Numbers)
Levels of pressure for people to change their behaviour
• Strength: the power of the influencer
• Immediacy: how close or recent the influence is
• Numbers: the amount of influencing people
2. Psycho-social Law (Diminishing effect after the first influence)
The first source of influence has the biggest effect on people but subsequent courses
are less effective on the influenced.
3. Divisions of Impact (More targets = lesser pressure)
Social force is diffused across all the people it is directed at.
If directed at one = high pressure
If directed at multiple = lower pressure due to division over multiple targets

Strength: A strength is that there is support from research evidence. Ex: the concept of
social facilitation was studied by Triplett and then further support for evaluation
apprehension and drive theory was supplied by Schmitt et al. (1986).

ISSUES AND DEBATES:

• Individual and situational factors: One strength is that they acknowledge both
individual and situational factors. For example, drive theory explains social facilitation as
an internal physiological process which is also moderated by individual factors such as
natural levels of social anxiety in the person.
• Cultural differences: However, there are weaknesses in terms of the research support.
For example, cultural differences may not be taken into account as the majority of
research used people from individualist cultures, suggesting that the results may not be
applicable to collectivist cultures. Also, the fact that individual personality differences
may affect group and individual performances means that it may be worth taking a more
idiographic approach to the study of group behaviour and look at the individuals
themselves.
• Application to everyday life: In addition, most of the research studies were laboratory
experiments with artificial tasks such as clapping and shouting. This means that the
results are low in ecological validity and may not be applicable to real life situations like
the workplace.

The role of culture in group performance

Different types of cultures can be more or less prone to social loafing.

1. Individualistic cultures → a culture in which personal goals are seen as more
important than the groups goals:
• Emphasis on personal achievement and competition
• Reliance on others is discouraged
• Social loafing may occur more readily within in-groups if one feels they are not
recognized by the group
2. Collectivistic cultures → a culture in which the groups goals are seen as more
important the individual wants or needs:
• Emphasis on co-operation to shared goals
• View out-group members with greater distrust therefore compete with them - may be
more competitive than INDIVIDUALISTS
• Social loafing is less likely to occur in their in-groups (where they feel they belong)
because they are motivated by the collective outcomes that can be achieved by their
team

Example study - Earley (1993) on influence of culture to social

loafing
Aim :
1. To see whether collectivists perform worse then working with an outgroup rather than
with an ingroup
2. To see whether anticipated rewards and group and individual efficiency expectations
will meditate the effects of group context and collectivism - individualism on
performance

Methodology
• Volunteer sample of 165 entry or middle managers: 60 Chinese, 45 Israeli and 60
American aged between 25 and 40 who held a bachelor's degree or higher.
• China and Israel were chosen as collectivistic cultures; USA as individualistic cultures
• Participants had to complete a task sorting a work inbox (rating job applications, forms
etc.) over 1 hour
IV Conditions:
• In-group: participants were told they were part of a group whose collective
performance would be assessed at the end of the task. They had been told they had
been grouped because of common interests and were from the same region and would
likely be friends
• Out-group: participants were told they were part of a group whose collective
performance would be assessed at the end of the task. They had been told they had
been grouped because of different interests and were from different regions
• Individual: participants told they were working alone but to work their hardest. Write
their name at the top of each task in the box

DV:
• Performance on the task
• Participants completed self-report scales on individualism, collectivism, self-efficacy,
group efficacy and anticipated outcome

RESULTS:
• Self-reported collectivists socially loaf when working in an out-group context
• Participation in either in-group or out-group resulted in worse performance than
individualists within the individual condition
• Collectivists performed best in the in-group condition overall

CONCLUSION:
Collectivists view their individual work as an important contribution to the group’s goals
more so than individualists.

Strength:
1. One strength of Earley's study is that it uses quantitative methodology such as
questionnaires and rating scales. For example, each participant had to complete
structured questionnaires to measure their self-efficacy, anticipated performance and
collectivism-individualism and also got a quantitative performance score at the end of
the task. This is a strength as the results found will be objective and not subject to
interpretation, increasing the reliability and replicability of the study.
2. Another strength of this study is that it extended Earley's (1989) research and
showed that suggesting collectivists do not social loaf at all was too simplistic, and that
actually it was a complex interaction between collectivism, type of group membership
and anticipatory self-efficacy and performance. This is a far more holistic approach to
the idea of social loafing in different cultures and therefore enhanced researchers'
understanding of this complex phenomenon and provided a base for future research.

ISSUES AND DEBATES

• Application to everyday life: One weakness of the study is that it was an experiment
which took place in an artificial setting, rather than a workplace. Earley himself was not
clear to what extent the artificial manipulation of the group and the task itself actually
reflected the true dynamics of a real organisation.Therefore, it may be suggested that
Earley's study lacks ecological validity and thus may not be applicable to real life work
situations.
• Idiographic versus nomothetic: In addition, the use of experiments alongside
structured questionnaires meant that a nomothetic approach was taken. This is where
quantitative methodology is used and group averages obtained, which are then
analysed to make predictions about a group in general. For example, in this case
predictions were made that collectivists as a group would perform better within an
ingroup than in an outgroup or alone

Key Study: Performance monitoring of employee productivity:

concentration levels of being monitored - CLAYPOOLE AND
SZALMA (2019)

Context:
-​ social facilitation : research suggests that using electronic performance
monitoring improves productivity and performance
-​ This depends on task difficulty : the more difficult the task, the more likely
performance is impaired
Aim:
1.​ To investigate whether typical socal facilities effects such as improved
performance could be observed when using an electronic presence on a
sustained attention vigilance task

Methodology:
-​ Laboratory Experiment - two conditions : control and electronic presence
-​ Sample: 106 participants ( 65 females and 41 males ) with a mean age of 20.57
were recruited through a psychology experiment website, from a university in the
south of USA. All participants were undergraduates. They were randomly
assigned to their condition
-​ Volunteer Sampling and they received credits for completion of the study.
Variables:
-​ » Independent variable: presence/absence of EPM (webcam and video
recorder).
-​ » Dependent variables: speed and accuracy of response to 20 random ‘critical
signals’ in a 24-minute period.
-​ Controlled variables: time period; random allocation of participants to either the
experimental or the control condition; identical task for both groups.

Procedure:
» Participants completed a demographics questionnaire.
» Experimental condition participants were informed about recording (no actual
recording was done).
» Participants completed a three-minute practice session followed by a 24-minute
vigilance task:
– During a computer display of two-digit numbers, a number with only a
difference of 0 or +/–1 between each digit, like 45 or 66, would appear.
– As soon as it appeared, participants should press the spacebar.
– There were 20 of these critical signals.

Results:
- Participants in EPM condition had greater proportion of correct detection in CS, made
less false alarms and faster median response times compared to control

Conclusion:
-​ Social facilitation, including EPM, can be used to improve performance on
sustained attention tasks that are cognitively demanding but boring
-​ Video based monitoring is effective as a method of electronic monitoring and is
less intrusive then other forms of EPM
Strengths:
-​ Quantitative data – Earley (1993) used quantitative data collection, increasing
replicability. Claypoole and Szalma (2019) measured data objectively and
statistics were used to draw conclusions regarding social facilitation function of
EPM.
-​ They protected the confidentiality of the participants by making sure all
responses were private and anonymous. Informed consent was gained from
each participants. The study gained consent from the American Psychological
Association code of ethics committee. - ETHICS

Weakness:
 -​ A weakness is that the sample used may not be representative of the wider
population as a whole or workers within organisations in particular. This is
because the sample comprised undergraduate students from a university in the
Southern US. As these students were at university, they may not be
representative of the wider population, who may have more experience of
sustained attention tasks - GENERALISABILITY
-​ Ecological validity – supporting research for theories of individual and group
performance is experimental, with low mundane realism. Earley’s participants
were just told that they were members of an ingroup or outgroup; there was no
interaction with the group. Claypoole and Szalma employed standardised
conditions with an unrealistic task.

ISSUES AND DEBATES:

-​ Cultural differences: Cultural differences may affect how people react to others’
presence, whether real or electronic. Use of vigilance tasks and webcams varies,
so participants would vary depending on familiarity with surveillance.
-​ Application to everyday life: If EPM can increase performance on vigilance tasks,
then organisations can use it to increase workplace productivity. However,
volunteer participants agreed willingly to EPM use. There are ethical
considerations regarding workplace use.
 9.3.3 Conflict at Work
Conflict at work is bad because:
• distracts employees from the job, takes away focus from objectives and set onto
conflicts
• reduces overall productivity
• leads to wastage of time and resources
• leads to physical/psychological harm of people involved
• increases absenteeism (absenteeism - regular non-attendance of work without good
reason)) and employeee turnover
• reduces staff satisfaction
• damages reputation of the business

TYPES of conflict that may occur:

• intra-individual - an internal conflict within a person, usually a conflict of
values/thoughts
• inter-individual - between two or more individuals in a group
• intra-group - between multiple people within the same social group
• inter-group - between different social groups within the same organisation
CAUSES of conflict:
• Organisational factors - issues that are specific to the context of the organisation.
(e.g: salary, work conditions, status, how to achieve a goal, resources)
• Interpersonal factors - issues that are related to the specific individuals such as
personality clash or discord in teamwork.
If this occurs between leaders of different groups, conflict can increase rapidly

ISSUES AND DEBATES:

-​ Individual and situational explanations: When looking at types of conflict and
reasons for group conflict at work it is worth looking at the individual vs situational
debate. For example, on the individual side there are personality differences
such as one person being authoritative and one person being shy, whereas on
the situational side there is poor communication, organisational changes and
competition for scarce resources. This shows that just changing situational
factors may not be enough to resolve conflict and that you need to look at the
personalities of your workers as well.
 -​ Application to everyday life: A strength is that it is clear that knowing what is
causing conflict will allow organisations to try and resolve the conflict and
increase staff morale and productivity; showing that these explanations have
application to real life. For example, if you are aware that poor communication
increases the likelihood of conflict within the workforce then you can ensure that
there are increased opportunities for workers to ask questions of employers and
more senior staff members, and that there are different outlets such as websites
and notice boards where important information is released. Therefore, these
explanations for conflict are useful.
-​ Cultural difference: A weakness is that cultural differences may not have been
taken into account when looking at group conflict. Explanations take a very
individualistic view on group conflict, highlighting the importance of status,
respect and personality. In certain collectivist cultures it may be that individual
status and power is not at all important. Therefore, some of the explanations may
not be applicable, meaning that theory may not be generalisable to all cultures.

Thomas - Kilmann’s Five Conflict-Handling modes

Thomas and Kilmann (1974) suggest five modes that can be used to manage
group conflict : C.C.C.A.A

1.​ Competition - individuals persist until one wins and one loses; this is where the
conflict ends
2.​ Collaboration - parties must work together to overcome the conflict
3.​ Compromise - parties must make some compromise and give something up to
reduce the conflict. Effectively, both parties must forego a comparable thing.
4.​ Accommodation - one of the parties will need to make a sacrifice in order to
reduce conflict. Extremely effective to prevent further damage to
relationships
5.​ Avoidance - both parties withdraw and suppress the conflict completely. Does
not lead to resolution. Can create an effective cooling-off period.

Certain people use some conflict-handling modes better than others. Workplace conflict
behaviour is therefore a result of both personal predispositions and the situational
requirements.
Weakness: A weakness is that types of conflict modes for individuals are measured
using the Thomas-Kilmann Instrument (TKI). This is a questionnaire with forced-choice
answers. Each question involves a pair of statements about how the individual responds
to conflict situations, and the person taking the test has to choose one which is most
applicable to them. One weakness of this style of questionnaire is that it is subject to
social desirability bias where a person may choose an answer which makes them look
better.

ISSUES AND DEBATES:

-​ Application to everyday life: Once an individual understands the different styles of
conflict resolution, they can use this to apply the best approach to a situation.
They can also recognise their own strengths in terms of the style they are most
comfortable using but it can also make them consider other styles that they use
less. Perhaps this will lead them to adjust their style depending on the situation
they face.
-​ Idiographic versus nomothetic: Nomothetic approaches tend to try and look for
certain laws or generalisations that apply to all people, usually using more
scientific methods such as experiments, or structured questionnaires, which give
quantitative data. Thomas-Kilmann's conflict styles take the nomothetic approach
through the use of forced choice questionnaires, which assume that in conflict
situations all behaviour can be measured along two dimensions; and that these
dimensions account for all individual differences in behaviours (hence the five
different responses to conflict). These five styles can then therefore be applied to
all people in those situations.

Einarson (1999): The nature and causes of bullying at work:

types, phases and causes
Bullying at work:
Bullying occurs when someone at work is systematically subjected to aggression
from others over a period of time, where they cannot defend themselves or escape the
situation.

Aim: to review and summarise research and literature on the nature and causes of
bullying at work.

Methodology: review article, using secondary sources.

Results:
» Nature of bullying:
1. Work-related bullying, such as changing work tasks to make them more
difficult.
2. Social isolation.
3. Ridicule – insulting remarks or gossip.
4. Verbal threats – being criticised or humiliated in front of others.
5. Physical violence or threats of violence – this is very rare.
» Phases of bullying (escalating from 1 to 4):
1. Aggressive behaviour – subtle aggression begins against one or more people.
2. Bullying – aggression becomes more open.
3. Stigmatisation and victimisation – victim is harassed and alienated, or
subjected to offensive remarks and jokes.
4. Trauma – the situation affects the victim’s mental and/or physical health.

» Causes of bullying:
1. The bully: engages in bullying because of competition for status and jobs,
feelings of envy and uncertainty.
2. The victim: the personality of the victim provokes aggression in others.
3. The workplace: poor workplace design, poor leadership behaviour, socially
exposed victim and low moral standards in the department can lead to
increased bullying.

Conclusions: future research should focus on victims’ feelings and also address both
predatory and dispute-related bullying and take these differences into account.

Strength:
Reliability – Sherif (1962) developed realistic conflict theory, so explanations of group
conflict have research support. TKI gathers objective, quantitative data and can be
replicated with large numbers of diverse participants, giving high reliability. Einarsen’s
(1999) review article methodology used other research studies to summarise the current
understanding of bullying, so there is research support.
Usefulness – explanations for conflict at work are based on individual and situational
factors, so research is helpful for organisations trying to resolve conflict at work.

Weakness:
Ethics – research needs to minimise harm and maximise benefits to the people being
researched and the wider population (Einarsen, 1999). Blaming victims for bullying by
pointing to their personality is unethical and puts them at risk of further psychological
harm.
Validity – TKI and Einarsen self-report method are both subject to social desirability
bias.
ISSUES AND DEBATES:
-​ Application to everyday life: Individuals can use Thomas-Kilmann’s (1974)
different styles of conflict resolution to recognise their own strengths in terms of
the style they are most comfortable using and to consider other styles that they
use less.
-​ Cultural difference: group conflict explanations are individualistic, highlighting the
importance of status, respect and personality. These may not be important
factors in collectivist societies. In the Thomas-Kilmann model, individuals from
collectivistic cultures may select avoiding and accommodating styles of
conflict-handling more often than those from individualistic cultures.
-​ Individual and situational explanations: Einarsen (1999) considers the individual
and situational aspects of bullying. He discusses the role of personality in both
the victim and the bully, but also the relevance of situational factors in workplace
leadership, design and morality.
9.4.1 Physical Work Conditions
The impact of physical work conditions on productivity
Böckerman and Ilmakunnas (2012) found that increasing workers’ satisfaction with their
environment also increased their productivity.
Some factors that may affect work performance are:
» temperature
» noise
» light.

Hawthorne Effect → a phenomena of behaviour where those being observed

change their behaviour purely as a response to their awareness of being observed
→ it is the influence of demand characteristics.

The worker’s productivity was reported to have increased with almost any change
in lighting. This surprising finding was coined as the “Hawthorne effect”

The Original Hawthorne studies ( Mayo et al. )

The term ‘Hawthorne effect’ was first used by the sociologist Landsberger in 1958 when
he analysed the results of studies conducted between 1924 and 1932 at the Hawthorne
plant of the Western Electric Company in Chicago. Jackson et al. conducted the first
field experiments into the effect of lighting at the plant on the productivity levels, in
1924–1927. The first of these is described below. Mayo took over and extended the
research from 1928 onwards.

Aim: to investigate the effect of lighting on productivity levels.

Procedure and results:

» The control group’s lighting remained constant.

» In the experimental group, lighting levels were decreased:

– After one week, production had increased.

– In the second week, lighting levels were reduced further and productivity increased
again.

– Finally, lighting levels were decreased to ‘moonlight’, but productivity did not change.
Conclusions: lighting levels were irrelevant; workers knew they were being observed,
and so the longer the study went on, the harder they worked.

Komplier (2006)

Kompier (2006) suggested five reasons why the Hawthorne effect is a myth ‘that has
become a legend’.
Reasons why the Hawthorne effect is a myth:
-​ Scientific worth: The quality of the original case studies is low.
-​ Continuous improvement: In many of the original studies, researchers ignored
periods of time when productivity went down.
-​ Social factors being the most important: Researchers suggested that
productivity improved because of a change in supervision and the extra attention
workers received, and not economic interest. However, when incentivised pay
was introduced in one study productivity increased, and when it was taken away
it dropped.
-​ Wholehearted cooperation: Researchers suggested that in the first study
everyone co-operated with the experiment and with management. However,
worker resistance towards management was documented.
-​ Neurotic worker: Workforce conflict was blamed on the mental health or issues
of the worker, blaming the individual rather than the work situation.

Strength: A strength of the Hawthorne studies and consequent idea of the Hawthorne
effect is that it provides a baseline for all future research due to its use of a number of
different techniques and methods. The studies used a mix of quantitative and qualitative
methods, interviews and observations, blood pressure and heart rate monitoring. They
also built up a strong collaboration between a factory and a university, something that
has been used in many different studies since then. This means that the studies were
highly useful and this methodology continues to be used effectively in organisational
psychology.

ISSUES AND DEBATES:

-​ Application to everyday life: A strength is that the studies used to support the
Hawthorne effect are applicable to real life situations and have high ecological
validity. All of the original studies took place within a 'real life' electrical plant in
Chicago, using workers who were going about their normal shifts. The only
variables that were manipulated were things like lighting and length of breaks
which are conditions that are often changed in a real work environment. The use
of the workers within a real work environment means that the results obtained
can be applied to real life situations, as the study was high in ecological validity.
 -​ Determinism versus free will: A weakness is that it is deterministic. The idea that
our behaviour is determined by social situations and social interactions. In this
study, it is suggested that the attention and the real or imagined presence of
others, especially if that social presence is someone seen to be higher in terms
of authority, has caused a behaviour change. However, this is a weakness as it
ignores the role of free will in behaviour, suggesting that the individuals had no
choice but to behave in this way.

Impact of the work environment design: open-plan offices

An open-plan office is where all employees work on the same floor within the same
open space. These spaces are intended to increase collaboration, creativity and
productivity through skills and ideas-sharing.

James et al. (2021) identified three main factors influencing the recent move to
open-plan offices:
» type of work – more knowledge-based and complex
» technological changes – lightweight laptops and available internet mean work
can be done from home, leaving desks unoccupied
» cost – cheaper and more space-efficient.

There are contradictory findings regarding the impact of open-plan offices on health
and social relationships:
» Oommen et al. (2008):
– positive impacts – more communication, collaboration and flexibility to work
in different areas
– negative aspects – noisy, loss of concentration, lack of privacy and more
stressful.
» James et al. (2021):
– mainly negatives – affected health and increased stress, lack of privacy, poor
lighting, noisy and poor temperature control.

Oldham and Brass (1979)

Aim: To investigate changes in employees’ reactions to work after moving to an
open-plan office.

Methodology:
» Seven-point rating scale questionnaire measuring job satisfaction, interpersonal
satisfaction and internal work motivation.
» Completed by American newspaper employees; results compared with two control
groups.
» Management and employees were questioned informally for qualitative data.
» Interviews were held to see whether other changes in the working environment
may have occurred simultaneously.

Results:
» Quantitative findings:
– Employees’ internal motivation and satisfaction fell sharply after the move.
– There was almost no difference between the experimental group scores and
quasi-control group, so decreased motivation and satisfaction was not a
result of order effects from completing the questionnaire before and after the
move.
– A non-equivalent control group showed no difference in their scores before
and after the move.
» Qualitative findings:
– Interviewees described the open-plan office as a ‘fishbowl’, ‘cage’ or ‘warehouse’.
– They felt a lack of privacy and inability to concentrate due to noise.

Conclusion:
» Moving from conventional offices to open-plan office styles can reduce workers’
levels of motivation and satisfaction.
» Noise levels and lack of privacy can affect workers’ concentration levels negatively.

Strengths:
-​ Reliability – Oldham and Brass (1979) used a standardised procedure, with the
same structured questionnaire for every participant. This allows easy replication.
-​ Quantitative and qualitative data – Oldham and Brass used seven-point rating
scales and informal interviews. The triangulation of methods increases internal
validity.

Weakness:
-​ Generalisability – Oldham and Brass used data from one US company. Particular
characteristics may be more prominent meaning open-plan offices did not suit
the workers. Cultural factors may have contributed to results, limiting
generalisability.
-​ Validity – Oldham and Brass’ research is from 1979, lowering the study’s
temporal validity. However, James et al. (2021) found a similar negative reaction
to open-plan offices nowadays

Application to everyday life: Oldham and Brass (1979) used standardized

questionnaires, they also had informal conversations with workers, enriching the
findings from quantitative data and increasing application to everyday life.
9.4.2 Temporal conditions of Work Environment
Rotational shift work
This is used in manufacturing sectors for continuous production.
For example:
» Forward rotation shift (phase delay): shift moves from a morning to evening
shift, then possibly to a night shift before the cycle begins again. This decreases
disruption to the worker’s circadian rhythm.
» Backward rotation shift (phase advance): shift moves from a night to evening
shift and then to a morning shift. This is known for its negative effect on health.

On-call work patterns

To provide 24/7 coverage, workers are on ‘standby’ to respond. This is most common
in places such as hospitals or fire service.
Two types:
1. Go home after work and at weekends, but can be called back. Need to live near to
work and be able to get there very soon after being called. Not allowed to drink
alcohol during on-call periods, must always be contactable by phone and possibly
be awake at set times. Paid if you are called on.
2. Remain at place of work, but when on call you are able to rest. Paid for whole
on-call period.
Nicol and Botterill (2004) found that on-call work may increase stress, affect mental
health, decrease quality and quantity of sleep, and disrupt family and social life.

Flexi-time
With flexi-time working, people work the same number of hours weekly but
whenever they choose, within employer-set limits. This does not affect total working
hours or responsibilities. It requires workers to be disciplined and an ability to track
when everyone is working and where.
Effects on workers:
» Flexi-time increases satisfaction and morale.
» It reduces stress and fatigue.
» Traffic can be avoided.
» Employees can choose to be in the office for more hours one day and work
shorter hours the next day.
» It allows people to work and meet family commitments.

Effects of shift work

Health
Ansiau et al. (2017) investigated the effects of shift work on various factors:
» Sleep quality: shift workers and ex-shift workers have poor quantity and quality
of sleep.
» Quality of life: shift workers have more chronic fatigue than non-shift workers,
but there are no differences in social isolation or stress.
» Physical health: shift workers are more likely to suffer from obesity, peptic
ulcers, gastric problems, failure to control blood sugar levels and cardiovascular
disease, especially those who work shifts for more than ten years.
» Cognition: shift workers have poorer attention span and episodic memory than
non-shift workers. Those who ceased shift work more than five years previously
had no differences in cognitive performance.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD)

-​ Torquati et al. (2018) found the risk of CVD to be 17 per cent higher among shift
workers than non-shift workers. The risk of coronary heart disease (CHD)
morbidity was 26 per cent higher.
-​ Abu Farha and Alefishat (2018) found night shift workers in Jordan had raised
risk of CVD and clogged arteries, with frequent and longer night shifts increasing
the risk.

Reproductive effects
-​ Harrington (2001) found night shift work carries a higher risk to women of
childbearing age. This is possibly due to menstrual cycle disruptions and
increased stress because of conflicts between night shifts and family life. There
was an increased risk of miscarriage, low birth weight and premature birth.

Shift work and Accidents

Shift work and tiredness may lead to lower performance levels and higher rates of
accidents. Ryu et al. (2017) studied factory shift workers in South Korea, finding current
shift workers were 2.7 times more likely, and past shift workers were 1.7 times more
likely, to have a work-related injury, compared to workers who had never worked shifts.

ISSUES AND DEBATES:

-​ Application to everyday life: A strength of researching the effects of shift work is
that it has application to real life. If research shows that shift work has negative
consequences, then organisations can adapt working patterns to reduce errors
and improve health. For example, instead of rotational shifts they could do phase
delay shifts.
-​ Determinism versus free will: A weakness of suggesting that shift work affects
health and performance negatively is that it is deterministic, suggesting that
health/accidents are caused by external forces over which we have little control.
This is too simplistic as the individual has control over other aspects of their life
which may help lessen the impact of shift work such as good nutrition, ensuring
the environment at home is good enough for sleep and reducing external stress,
for example.

Gold et al. (1992)

Aim: to investigate the impact of work schedules on the sleep schedule, sleepiness and
accident rates of Massachusetts female nurses.

Methodology:
» Participants: 878 nurses (mean age: 33.9) and other auxiliary hospital staff.
» Questionnaires on their working shifts:
– rotator (four day/evening shifts, then four days of nights)
– day/evening shifts but no nights
– nights – eight shifts a month, no days or evenings
– day/evening with occasional nights
– nights with occasional days/evenings.
» Participants were also asked about:
– mixed day and night shifts
– sleep–wake times – four hours of sleep (‘anchor sleep’) on working days and days off
– sleep quality
– alcohol consumption
– medication taken
– falling asleep at work or when driving to/from work
– accidents, errors and ‘near-misses’ in past year.
Results:

Conclusion: rotating shift patterns disrupting sleep and circadian rhythms are
associated with increased error rates on tasks, due to lapses in attention.

Strength:
-​ Reliability – research into temporal conditions of work environments often uses
questionnaires. Gold et al. (1992) used standardised questionnaires –
quantitative, objective data from a large sample of nurses that can be analysed
statistically, giving easy replicability.

Weakness:
-​ Generalisability – Gold et al.’s study may have cultural bias; results may not
generalise to other nurses in other cultures, or other USA states.
-​ Validity – link between shift work and health or accidents is correlational; maybe
other factors caused poor health, such as poor diet, family problems and stress

ISSUES AND DEBATES:

Application to everyday life – A strength is that it has high application to real life. For
example,if research shows negative effects of shift work, then organisations can adapt
working patterns to reduce errors and improve health.
Quantitative versus qualitative data: Gold et al.’s study uses quantitative methods. A
more idiographic approach using qualitative methods such as interviews would give
insight into the reasons why shift work is problematic.
 9.4.3 Health and Safety
Accidents at work

System errors in operator machine systems

Displays
» Visual: lights, dials and digital readouts, such as temperature, speed or time.
» Audio: pre-recorded messages and tones. Important if working in a dark room or
moving about. Used for warnings and time-dependent messages.

To reduce errors:
» Match display to use – for example, digital displays are better than dials for
accurate readings.
» Group together logically – displays for the same system belong together.
» Match display to control – put displays next to their controls.
» Use colour – to enhance the display and act as a warning.

Controls
» Levers, switches, handles, joysticks, pedals, keyboards used to control a machine.
To reduce errors:
» Group controls logically – in the order they are used and by frequency of use.
» Ensure controls can be easily reached and operated.
» Protect controls from accidental operation.
» Label each control.

ISSUES AND DEBATES:

-​ Application to everyday life: Researching the reasons behind accidents at work
has obvious application to real life. To be able to reduce accidents you need to
understand why they occur in the first place. Once that understanding is there,
then you can develop systems to make their occurrence less frequent, as
 discussed with visual and audio displays. This includes having back-up systems
for systems failures and regular appraisals and observations to ensure fewer
human errors occur.
-​ Individual and situational explanations: When looking at human errors you
can discuss the individual versus situational debate. In this case many of the
errors could be due to situational factors such as poor layout of displays and
controls, poor training or distractions. However, there could be some individual
factors occurring, such as lack of self-esteem or a lack of confidence in their
ability to perform the job or a lack of coordination which makes them trip or fall.

Reducing accidents at work: token economy

A token economy is based upon the principles of operant conditioning where
behaviours are rewarded with tokens (secondary reinforcers) that can be exchanged
for goods or benefits (primary reinforcers).

Fox et al. (1987)

Context: every year many people die in mines. Before Fox et al.’s research, the
response had been short-term fixes rather than long-term prevention.

Aim: To investigate introducing a token economy system in two USA open-cast

mines where there had been accidents.

Methodology:
» Participants: workers in each mine were divided into hazard groups:
– Group 1 office jobs were least hazardous.
– Group 4 jobs were most hazardous – electricians, scrapers and operators.

Procedure:
– Employees earned tokens for working without time lost for injury; not being
involved in accidental damage to equipment; behaviour that prevented
accidents or injuries.
– Tokens were lost for unsafe behaviour.

Results: there was a large decrease in days lost through injury as accidents were
reduced. The system was used at one mine for 12 years and at the other for 11 years.
Conclusion: behavioural programmes are effective at reducing accidents in the long
term.
Strength:
-​ A strength of the Fox et al. study is that it uses a longitudinal research
methodology over a number of years. For example, at one mine the token
economy programme ran for twelve years. This is important as it allows
researchers to track changes over time, to gather a large amount of data and
also to see whether the interventions implemented are effective in the long term.
-​ The study has important applications to real life. Time off work for accidents is a
real issue for organisations in terms of employee morale, loss of money and work
time. Therefore, if interventions such as token economy can be used effectively
within a workplace to decrease accidents there is less chance of negative
consequences for the employee and the cost of the programme will be less than
the benefits, making the study useful.

Weakness:
-​ A weakness of the study is that the sample may not be representative of the wider
population, limiting the study's generalisability. For example, the two companies were in
the USA and were both mining companies. The effectiveness of reward systems may
only be apparent in certain countries and there may be something about the mining
community which may make them more receptive to this type of behavioural
intervention, for example the element of risk and danger. Therefore, the results of the
study may not generalise to other countries and organisations.
-​ There may be an issue with the validity of the study. For example, the incentive of a
reward may have stopped employees reporting incidents and therefore the number of
accidents may not have decreased, only the reporting of them.

Monitoring accidents at work

If accidents are to be prevented, then they need to be monitored and recorded first,
so the causes of them can be addressed. There is no universal way of doing this, so
accidents may be missed.

Key study: Swat (1997)

Context:
» Two types of monitoring may prevent accidents: active monitoring (preventive
checking) and reactive monitoring (post-incident checking).
» Poland’s system of documenting accidents was ineffective.

Aim: To develop an organisationally useful method of recording risk to find causes of

accidents and prevent them.
Research methods and design:
» Research method: case study and interviews with line managers, safety
supervisors and employees.
» Design: longitudinal.

Sample:
» Four industrial plants from different branches (foundry, machinery, meat
processing and furniture) in Lodz, Poland.
» All of the plants were old, with old equipment.
» The plants employed 2964 workers in 1993.

Procedure:
» Accidents in 1993 were analysed for frequency, severity and causes by:
– accident reports
– researchers’ investigations of accident protocols
– interviews with safety supervisors and line managers.
» Minor incidents in 1994 not resulting in death, serious injury or serious damage
were analysed, from the meat processing plant, using:
– data on first aid cases
– interviews with 96 employees.

Results
Frequency and severity of accidents across four industrial plants:
Accident Foundry Machinery Meat processing Furniture Average

Frequency (per 100 employees) 5.9 2.1 2.8 2.3 2.8

Severity (sick days per accident) 38.8 61.2 41.4 41.2 44.6

Frequency rates – types of accidents (per 100 employees) in all plants:

Fall and slip Manual work Working parts Sources of Other
energy

0.7 1.1 (highest in 0.7 (highest in 0.2 (highest in 0.1

meat foundry: 2.6) foundry: 0.9)
processing:
1.2)

Four essential causes of accidents:

» insufficient supervision (highest – 89 per cent)
» poor workplace organisation
» technical factors (lowest – 11 per cent)
» human error.

Percentage of accidents caused by poor housekeeping/maintenance (slippery

floors, faulty staircases, improper tools, incorrect clothing)
Foundry Machinery Meat processing Furniture

65 33.3 47.8 37.5

Incidents (meat processing plant, 1994):

» There were 254 injuries requiring medical treatment.
» There were 23 cases with sick leave days.
» Employee interviews suggested total incidents could be as high as 520, meaning
many were not reported.

Conclusions:
» Type and location of accidents and incidents should be recorded.
» Poor maintenance/housekeeping should be noted as a key cause.

Strength:
-​ Validity – Swat (1997) used data triangulation and quantitative and qualitative
methods. Quantitative organisational data can be compared with interview results
to identify differences, increasing the validity of findings.
-​ Longitudinal design- In Swat (1997), researchers investigated trends over a
three-year period, allowing more detail to be obtained.

Weakness:
-​ Subjectivity – in Swat (1997), participant and researcher bias may have affected
data quality. Employees/line managers may not report accidents for fear of
generating problems. Researchers used their own analytical tools, maybe
leading to bias in interpretations.
-​ Generalisability - Case studies have low generalisability, so in Swat (1997), the
four plants are not representative of all industries and Poland may not be
representative of all countries.

ISSUES AND DEBATES:

-​ Application to everyday life: Research into accidents at work means once you
understand the reasons for them, you can develop systems to reduce them. If
token economy interventions can decrease workplace accidents, then they are
saving money and lives.
-​ Individual and situational explanations: Research into health and safety at work
looks at human and system errors, explaining frequency, severity and lack of
reporting as a product of both. Swat (1997) used data from accident reports and
individual interviews, taking into account both individual and situational
explanations.
-​ Idiographic versus nomothetic: Swat’s study takes a nomothetic approach.
However, a more idiographic approach with qualitative data collection would
allow investigation of individual reasons behind accidents. Thematic analysis of
responses could provide accident prevention information.
9.5.1 Theories of Job Satisfaction
Two-factor theory: Herzberg et al. (1959)
Herzberg et al. (1959) proposed that factors causing job satisfaction and factors
causing job dissatisfaction are separate.

Strength: Herzberg's theory is supported by psychological theories that have been

shown to be credible. For example, the idea of productivity being improved through
meeting personal growth needs, such as the need for relationships or ability to obtain
promotion is linked to Maslow's needs theory (see page 640), whilst the idea of extrinsic
and intrinsic motivation being linked to motivation at work has been studied extensively.
Therefore, the idea that Herzberg's two factor theory has theoretical support means that
it is more credible.

Weakness: Herzberg's theory of job satisfaction fails to consider individual differences

within the workforce. It assumes that the needs for all employees are the same and that
such things as recognition or responsibility are vital in terms of increased productivity
and performance. However, it may be that different people are motivated by different
needs due to their personal circumstances, but also due to their personality: some
people may not need intrinsic motivators to produce high quality work. Therefore, this
failure to take into account individual differences lowers the validity of the results.

ISSUES AND DEBATES:

-​ Application to everyday life: A strength is that it can be applied to real life to increase job
satisfaction in workers and improve the quality of their work life. If, as suggested by
 Helzberg, workers need both hygiene factors and motivational factors in order to be
motivated and increase productivity then they must concentrate not only on increasing
pay or improving practical work conditions but also ensure that factors such as
recognition and promotional opportunities are present..
-​ Cultural differences: The theory does not consider cultural differences. Herzberg's theory
was constructed using semi-structured interviews with employees in Pittsburgh, USA.
Therefore, it may be that different cultures have different needs, or maybe people in
some cultures are motivated by extrinsic needs more than people in the USA. For
example, Edward and Teoh (2009) studied workers in two universities in Kuala Lumpur
and found that the presence of extrinsic factors positively contributed to job satisfaction,
whilst the absence of intrinsic factors did not only neutralise feelings as suggested by
Herzberg but actively demotivated the workers. Therefore, research has shown that
cultural factors play a significant role in what does and does not motivate workers and
that Herzberg's theory may not be applicable across all cultures.

Hackman and Oldham’s Job Characteristics Theory

Psychological States

Job Characteristics
A theory that includes the following set of characteristics which lead to appealing and
motivating jobs:
-​ Skill variety: jobs should require a variety of skill set and utilise the pre-existing
skills of the worker
-​ Task identity: jobs should require completion of entire work and involve workers
holistically rather than in a disjointed element.
-​ Task significance: jobs should have significance and impact on other people
-​ Autonomy: jobs should allow workers to have some autonomy and flexibility in
planning, scheduling and doing their work etc.
-​ Feedback: the job itself should give information on how well the worker is
performing
Weakness: Hackman and Oldham (1976), the core characteristics of USA workers may
not apply in collectivist countries where task diversity and autonomy could be less
important.

ISSUES AND DEBATES:

-​ Application to real life: Hackman and Oldham’s five job characteristics could be
used as a checklist when a job is being created or reviewed, to improve
satisfaction and productivity. Ayandele and Nnamseh (2014) found that worker
job satisfaction in the African civil service fits this model.

Belias and Sklikas (2013)

Job satisfaction can be increased by job design.

» Job rotation:
– Workers are moved from one task to another regularly.
– This prevents boredom and monotony.
– Workers can widen their skills, gaining an understanding of the overall work process.
– This does not change responsibility level.
» Job enlargement:
– Jobs are expanded, allowing workers to take on additional tasks.
– This doesn’t mean employees are working harder or repetitively, but using team work
to complete the product.
– It is a more holistic way of working instead of reductionist.
– Job enlargement can bring increased responsibility and job satisfaction.
– This is a ‘horizontal’ extension of a job.
» Job enrichment:
– Workers are given more task responsibility.
– This might include redesigning a task or being responsible for a team of workers
completing a task.
– This is a ‘vertical’ extension of a job.

Strengths: Reliability: Even before Belias and Sklikas (2013) developed their theory,
Chen and Lu (2012) found job design positively impacted employee motivation and
performance. This gives empirical support for the theory.

Weakness: Generalisability: Belias and Sklikas, in some types of work, it is not possible
to have job rotation or to expand job roles. Also, rotation or expansion of job roles may
increase stress in some individuals.
9.5.2 Measuring Job Satisfaction
The Job Descriptive Index (JDI): Smith et al. (1969)
This is a 72-item questionnaire assessing five dimensions representing job satisfaction.
Questions are descriptive and answered using a three-point scale (Yes, No or
Undecided [?]). After testing, each word is given a numerical value that reflects how well
it describes job satisfaction.
The five dimensions are:
1.​ Satisfaction with job in general
2.​ Satisfaction with level of supervision
3.​ Salary/pay
4.​ Satisfaction with co-workers
5.​ Opportunities for promotion
Positive items: ‘Yes’ scores 3, ‘?’ scores 2, ‘No’ scores 1.
Negative items: ‘Yes’ scores 1, ‘?’ scores 2, ‘No’ scores 3.
The higher the score on the dimension, the more job satisfaction there is.

Quality of Working Life (QWL): Walton (1973)

Walton argued that no matter the occupation, most employees are dissatisfied at work.
He suggested eight dimensions of working life:
1.​ Adequate and fair compensation – salary
2.​ Safe and healthy working conditions
3.​ Opportunity to use and develop human capacity – autonomy and chance to use
skills
4.​ Opportunities for growth and security – promotion chances
5.​ Social integration in the work organisation – sense of belonging
6.​ Constitution of the work organisation – right to expression and equal treatment
7.​ Work and total life span – late work or travel away from family
8.​ Social relevance of work life – social responsibility of organisation

QWL evaluation scale: Timossi et al. (2008)

Timossi et al. developed a scale to measure each dimension by simplifying the
original terms into a standardised questionnaire with a five-point rating scale.

Strength ( FOR ALL )

-​ Quantitative data – JDI and QWL evaluation scales are types of psychometric
tests that generate objective quantitative data, increasing the reliability.
 -​ Reliability – JDI and QWL evaluation scales are standardised questionnaires,
increasing replicability and thus reliability.

Weakness ( FOR ALL ):

-​ Validity – JDI and QWL evaluation scales are self-report questionnaires using
forced-choice answers. Social desirability or anxiety may lower the validity of the
data.
-​ Usefulness – perceptions of what is fair and adequate treatment at work may
vary depending on workers’ personal situations, not just their work situations.
This reduces the usefulness of the JDI and QWL scales.
9.5.3 Attitudes to Work
Absenteeism and organisational commitment model: Blau and
Boal (1987)
Different interpretations of organisational commitment and job involvement had
previously led to variations in study results.

Blau and Boal (1987) operationalised both concepts:

» Job involvement – the extent to which an individual identifies with their job.
» Organisational commitment:
– Behavioural – worker is committed because it costs too much to leave.
– Attitudinal – worker identifies with the organisation and wishes to stay.

Four types of absenteeism:

1.​ Medical: illness, injury or family demands such as a sick child. Occurs randomly.
2.​ Career enhancing: allows the employee to further other career goals. Harder to
detect, but may peak just before quitting a job or just before an internal transfer.
3.​ Normative: habitual response to the norms of the organisation regarding
absence. ‘Personal day’ or ‘excused absence.’ A pattern will show, and
frequency and timing may be predicted.
4.​ Calculative: employee uses unexcused and excused absence days as permitted
by the company. Frequency and total number of days off would normally be
greatest for this type of absence.

Organisations should ensure absences are carefully recorded to ensure patterns are
spotted.

The framework of the model

Organisational commitment and job involvement were separated into high/low
categories and the type of absenteeism was matched to the category.

●​ High job involvement + high organisational commitment

○​ Work is important for their self-esteem
○​ Exert great deal of time and effort into their jobs
○​ Highly involved in group activities that maintain the organisation
○​ Most likely to get promoted
○​ Hard to replace
 ○​ LOWEST LEVEL OF ABSENTEEISM/TURNOVER
●​ High job involvement - low organisational commitment
○​ Work is important for their self-esteem
○​ Do not identify with organisation or its goals
○​ Low level effort into group tasks
○​ ‘Lone wolves”
○​ Sensitive to factors such as working conditions and pay (dissatisfiers such
as salary, bonuses, security in Herzberg theory)
○​ Breeds resentment from others if they are slacking in group tasks - affects
cohesiveness
○​ LEVEL OF ABSENTEEISM is due to conflict between work goal and
personal goal
●​ Low job involvement - high organisational commitment
○​ Work is not personally important to them
○​ Exert greater effort into group tasks
○​ Their absence have significant impact on OTHERS
●​ Low job involvement - low organisational commitment
○​ Work is not viewed as important to their self image
○​ Do not exert great effort into individual tasks or group tasks
○​ Least valuable members and most replaceable
○​ Higher levels of absenteeism

Weakness: Self-report - these dimensions would be measured via self-report measures

such as questionnaires, while they are valid as the individual reports their own
commitment (they are the best knowledge of their own commitment levels) it can be
prone to social desirability bias or demand characteristics.

ISSUES AND DEBATES:

-​ Application to real-life- it brings together the concepts of job involvement and
organisational commitment, which is quite holistic since the two factors
encompass a range of contributing sub-factors (e.g job involvement; can concern
how engaging the job is or how challenging it is). This idea allows organisation to
predict potential staff turnover, even though not 100% accurate, it helps to
manage larger organisations where absenteeism can cause drastic effects

Key study: Giacalone and Rosenfeld (1987)

Context: cost of sabotage rising, but very little research done; classified sabotage into
different methods with different reasons.
Aim: to determine whether individuals who accept more reasons for sabotage will justify
sabotage more than those who do not.

Research method: survey.

Sample: a volunteer sample of 38 labourers (union members) at an electrical factory

in the north-east USA.

Procedure:
» Designed a sabotage methods questionnaire and sabotage reasons
questionnaire.
» Four types of sabotage were asked about:
– work slowdowns
– destruction of machinery, premises or products
– causing chaos
– dishonesty.
» Answers were collated and grouped into ‘low reason’ (below median) and ‘high
reason’ (above median) acceptors.

Result:
The high reason acceptors saw all four forms of sabotage as being more justified
than did the low reason acceptors, but difference for dishonesty was not
significant.

Conclusions:
» Focusing on recognition and deterrence may help reduce accidents, risk exposure
and financial losses.
» Those who accept more reasons for sabotage are significantly more likely to
justify all types of sabotage except for dishonesty.

Strength:
-​ Reliability: Giacalone and Rosenfeld (1987) collected quantitative objective data
which allowed statistical analyses and comparisons to be drawn, increasing
reliability.
-​ Validity: in Giacalone and Rosenfeld, participants were given the (socially
sensitive) questionnaires by a non-supervisory colleague, which reduced
chances of lying.
Weakness:
-​ Generalisation from findings: Giacalone and Rosenfeld’s study was conducted
with unionised workers in one USA factory; cannot generalise findings to wider
population.
-​ Usefulness – Giacalone and Rosenfeld’s study was merely an initial
investigation; further research into recognition and deterrence would be needed
for it to be useful.

ISSUES AND DEBATES:

Application to everyday life: If organisations can establish patterns of absenteeism
within the workforce, they may be able to address the reasons for it early and save
money. Researchers considered that more studies were needed to determine the
relationship between perceived justifiability and performing an act of sabotage or
willingness to report sabotage. Development of this approach could help encourage
reporting sabotage or identifying employees at risk of performing sabotage.
Idiographic versus nomothetic: Research used a nomothetic approach to workplace
sabotage looking for general laws/trends, using structured questionnaires, to apply to all
workforces. Idiographic methods (unstructured interviews and focus groups) could
provide more insight into sabotage, and why some find it acceptable.