Thesis (J.C.L.)--Catholic University of America, 1995. / This is an electronic reproduction of TREN, #029-0325. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 40-50).

Thesis (J.C.L.)--Catholic University of America, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 40-50).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Cornell University, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Michigan, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 213-221).

No description available.

This dissertation examines the effect that the introduction of an advanced manufacturing technology, specifically robotics, has on the work force of an aerospace defense company. In this endeavor, there are two main objectives. First, this study determines whether workers feel that their jobs are threatened by the introduction of robotic technology. Secondly, the research compares the degree to which workers from different labor types feel this threat. A review of the literature reveals that the technical factors involving manufacturing technology have been thoroughly examined and discussed, but the effect that they have on the work force has been somewhat neglected. This dissertation develops ten hypotheses to ascertain the perceived threat to job security for workers within an aerospace defense company. This study is based on an employee survey that examined the employee's perceived threat to job security by the introduction of robotics. The primary research was obtained from employees within an aerospace defense company through the use of questionnaires in a three phase approach. The first phase utilized a pretest that sampled the questionnaire prior to the company-wide solicitation. The second phase administered the questionnaire to the three labor types within the work force. Phase three consisted of data reduction and the comparison of the primary data to the research hypotheses. The results of the study concluded that workers closer to the robotic technology (hands-on employees) felt more threatened about their job security than workers more removed from the technology (support personnel and management). It was further found that the hands-on workers felt that the major factor that lead to the introduction of robots was the desire to lower labor costs while support personnel and managers felt that the major factor that lead to the introduction of robots was due to increasing productivity. Additional hypotheses tested in this study include the effect that robots have on the perceptions of the work force toward the company's employment level, worker apprehension and reaction, training, safety, health, and competition.

The new world of work has an enormous impact on the work-life of employees. Retrenchment, early retirement, unemployment and the demand for better performance are the result of massive restructurings, outsourcing, mergers and acquisitions. The old Psychological contract, as well as lifelong employment, is becoming obsolete in a changing world of work. This leads to increased job insecurity in the workplace. There is substantial evidence in the literature that job insecurity is damaging to psychological health. Job insecurity in not only damaging the individual but impacts negatively on the organisation. Job insecurity leads to mistrust, lack of commitment and general dissatisfaction. In the end it will have a definite impact on organisational performance. The empirical objective of this research was to investigate the relationship between job insecurity, psychological well-being and the relationship with future literacy. A cross-sectional design with an availability sample (n =. 459) was used. The sample was subjected to a specific programme of future literacy training (Map Your Life). Questionnaires were completed prior to the training programme. The reliability and construct validity of the measuring instruments acceptable. (Cronbach alpha coefficients adhere to the cut-off point of > 0,70) with the exception of the Dispositional Optimism Questionnaire (Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0,64). Future literacy is an unknown concept and it was necessary to conceptualise the concept. No instrument to measure future literacy existed and it was necessary to compile such an instrument. A questionnaire consisting of 18 items was compiled to measure future literacy. Factor analysis revealed two factors that measured future literacy. Factor One was named Positive Mindset Towards Future Possibilities and Factor Two, Anticipating, Planning and Preparing for Future Changes. The Cronbach alpha for Factor One was 0,76 and 0,8 1 for the second factor. Results indicated statistical signiticant correlations (of a medium effect) between job insecurity, self-efficacy, dispositional optimism and work locus of control. Self-efficacy and dispositional optimism correlated negatively with job insecurity, indicating that job insecurity decreases as self-efficacy and dispositional optimism increases. The results also indicated a significant negative correlation (medium effect) between job insecurity and future literacy. This implies that as job insecurity decreases future literacy increases. The negative correlation between future literacy and job insecurity indicates that candidates who are future literate experience less job insecurity. When candidates with high and low scores on future literacy were compared with one another, candidates who scored low on all the scales of future literacy experienced high levels job insecurity. Candidates who demonstrated high levels of future literacy experienced significantly lower job insecurity. Black employees experienced significantly higher levels of future literacy when compared to White employees. Multiple regression analysis indicated that self-efficacy, dispositional optimism, work locus of control and future literacy predicted job insecurity when controlling for biographical variables. Limitations and recommendations regarding future research, as well as recommendations for the organisation were made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-21T14:43:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Katia Lopes Mariano.pdf: 3463828 bytes, checksum: 0b7a4b10daa441cc61e84505a1546604 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-05-12 / This research aims to identify the profile of the worker and the perception of these workers as job security in the buildings segment of the construction sector in the city of Ponta Grossa/PR bounded during the months from May to October 2013. We adopted the dialectical method that maintains as a criterion of truth the social practice, where from dialectical theoretical assumptions, the approximation of the object of study was performed to understand the peculiarities present in the investigated workers, where at first it was possible to address the actions. governmental economic development of the country cooperating in the progress in the area of Ponta Grossa/PR from the twentieth century to the year 2013 the research is descriptive in nature and the results presented describe the sample characteristics, such as socioeconomic profile of workers conditions of the work environment and a description of information on the occurrence of accidents and their characteristics. The methodological procedures used are: a literature review, desk research and questionnaires with closed questions. Through content analysis used to construct the theoretical syntheses, it is possible to check the profile of workers and their perception of job security in the profession in the construction industry in Ponta Grossa/PR. / A presente pesquisa tem como principal objetivo, identificar o perfil do trabalhador e a percepção desses trabalhadores quanto à segurança do trabalho no segmento das edificações do setor da construção no município de Ponta Grossa/PR, delimitada durante os meses de maio a outubro de 2013. Adotou-se o método dialético que sustenta como critério da verdade a prática social, onde a partir de pressupostos teóricos dialéticos, foi realizada a aproximação do objeto de estudo para compreender as particularidades presentes nos trabalhadores investigados, onde num primeiro momento foi possível abordar as ações governamentais de desenvolvimento econômico do país que cooperaram no progresso da região de Ponta Grossa/PR desde o século XX até o ano de 2013. A pesquisa é de natureza descritiva e os resultados apresentados descrevem as características da amostra, tais como: perfil socioeconômico dos trabalhadores, condições do ambiente de trabalho e descrição das informações sobre a ocorrência de acidentes de trabalho e suas características. Os procedimentos metodológicos utilizados são: a pesquisa bibliográfica, pesquisa documental e aplicação de questionários com questões fechadas. Por meio da análise de conteúdo utilizada para a construção das sínteses teóricas, é possível a verificação do perfil dos trabalhadores e sua percepção sobre a segurança do trabalho no exercício da profissão no setor da construção em Ponta Grossa/PR.

This thesis tested an appraisal, coping and adaptation model of job insecurity and organisational change with a sample of police officers. The model integrated key aspects of Lazarus' (1991a, 1999) cognitive-motivational-relational theory of emotion (personal coping resources, appraisal questions, emotion, coping and adaptation outcomes) with the ten job characteristics (opportunity for control, opportunity for skill use, externally generated goals, variety, environmental clarity, availability of money, physical security, opportunity for interpersonal contact, valued social position and supportive supervision) from Warr's (1987, 1999) vitamin model. The ten job characteristics were viewed as valued aspects of the environment that may potentially be lost or threatened during organisational crisis or change. The service within which the police officers worked underwent a large scale organisational restructuring from late 2001 to July 2002. Three research studies were conducted for this thesis. The first study developed a psychometrically sound, 40-item job characteristics scale, based on the ten dimensions of Warr's vitamin model. This scale assessed participants' worries about changes to aspects in their work environment. The development of this scale met a need within the job insecurity literature for a theoretically-derived measure of valued job features, and enabled the investigation of the appraisal, coping and adaptation model. This measure was included in the questionnaire for the cross-sectional and longitudinal studies that formed the second and third major research projects of this thesis. The main aim of the second study was to test a proposed model of appraisal, emotion, coping and adaptation following the experience of organisational change. The model proposed that person variables and personal coping resources (e.g., personal control and coping self-efficacy) would have indirect associations with the adaptational outcomes of Psychological Distress, Life Satisfaction and Job Withdrawal Behaviour. The personal coping resources were proposed to have indirect relationships with coping strategies through job characteristics, appraisal and emotion as well as direct associations with levels of distress, Life Satisfaction and Job Withdrawal Behaviour. The ten job characteristics were expected to have a direct relationship with Psychological Distress, and indirect associations with the three adaptational outcomes through appraisal, emotion and coping. Primary and secondary appraisal was proposed to precede and directly influence emotion. In turn, emotions were expected to directly relate to the coping strategies that were used, with coping strategies mediating the association between emotion and the three adaptational outcomes. An additional focus of this study was to determine whether there were mean differences for males and females on the variables examined. The second study was conducted in November 2002, three months after the restructuring. Two thousand two hundred and eighteen police officers were invited to participate in the study, with a total sample of 303 police officers responding. The antecedent variables (personal resources, job characteristics, perception of global job insecurity, appraisal components, feelings, coping strategies) and the indicators of employee adjustment (Psychological Distress, Life Satisfaction and Job Withdrawal Behaviour) were collected via a self-report questionnaire. Collateral data were also obtained from a friend, spouse/partner or work colleague of the police officer for the dependent variables of Psychological Distress and Life Satisfaction. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were applied to investigate the aims of this study. Some support for a partial mediating model was obtained, mainly with the work specific adaptational outcomes of Psychological Distress and Job Withdrawal Behaviour. The antecedent variables in the model explained a substantial amount of variance for each of the adaptation outcomes. Notably, the antecedents of the model to uniquely account for variance in Life Satisfaction, a non-work contextual outcome, were person variables and personal coping resources. The third research study used a two-wave longitudinal panel design. The principle aim of this study was to test the proposed model of appraisal, coping and adaptation, longitudinally. Specifically, the aim was to examine whether initial levels, and changes in levels over time in aspects of the proposed model predicted later levels, and changes across time in the adaptational outcomes of Psychological Distress, Life Satisfaction and Job Withdrawal Behaviour. The study was conducted in April and May, four to five months after the T1 data had been collected, and seven months after the restructuring. A total of 158 police officers responded from the 303 that participated in Study 2. Difference scores were calculated to examine change across time within hierarchical multiple regression analyses. Three longitudinal regression models (Basic, Change-in-Outcome and Change/Change) were examined to test for robust effects. The model explained considerably more variance in Psychological Distress across all three longitudinal models tested, compared to Life Satisfaction and Job Withdrawal Behaviour. Generally the work related antecedents (T1) had no or minimal association with change in Life Satisfaction. However, change in physical safety was associated with change in Life Satisfaction across the two points in time. Some robust associations were found for emotion coping strategies with Psychological Distress; personal control with Life Satisfaction; and negative feelings with Job Withdrawal Behaviour. The findings from the three studies are discussed with reference to Lazarus' (1991a, 1999) cognitive-motivational-relational theory and Warr's (1987, 1999) vitamin model. The findings from the cross-sectional and longitudinal research studies support partial mediating relationships among the antecedents with the adaptational outcomes. There is debate within the job insecurity literature as to whether potential loss of job features should be included in the definition and operationalisation of this construct. Based on the results of the research, it is recommended that the definition and operationalisation of job insecurity include potential loss of job features and potential loss of the job. The model tested accounted for more variance in the work specific outcomes of Psychological Distress and Job Withdrawal Behaviour than Life Satisfaction. Thus, the organisational restructuring appeared to have a greater association with work-specific outcomes rather than non-work outcomes. Some limitations of the research are noted. For example, the small sample size limited the ability to use latent variable model testing procedures. Second, the conclusions from the research studies are applicable to a police service organisation and thus may be limited in their application to employees in other organisations. Third, the model focused quite heavily on the individual within the organisation, examining personal resources and characteristics. Nonetheless, this research has contributed to the literature in several ways by: (a) developing a theoretically founded measure of valued job characteristics, (b) demonstrating the importance of evaluating changes to these features of the work environment and the potential loss of the job during organisational instability, and (c) testing an appraisal, coping and adaptation model that shows much promise for use within organisations undergoing crisis or change. This newly developed and tested model appears especially useful in understanding the impact of organisation changes on work related outcomes.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.