Person-Group (PG) fit is defined as the perceived compatibility between an individual and his or her workgroup, reflecting various social- and task-related elements of group work (Li, Kristof-Brown, & Nielsen, 2019). Although Yu’s (2013) theoretical motivation model of fit suggests that individuals are motivated and capable of changing and managing their PG fit perceptions, there is limited research on the specific actions that individuals take to manage their fit perceptions. Rather, most of the research in fit is concentrated on the positive outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction, commitment, performance) associated with fit (Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman, & Johnson, 2005) and portrays individuals as passive recipients of their fit perceptions. The purpose of this study is to extend Yu’s (2013) model to demonstrate that individuals are active agents who seek to maintain high levels of PG fit and alter low levels of PG fit. To understand how individuals manage PG fit, I adopt the perspective that fit perceptions are, in part, socially constructed, such that groupmates’ actions can make individuals believe that they are more/less of a fit (Follmer, Talbot, Kristof-Brown, Astrove, & Billsberry, 2018). Thus, individuals are triggered to use impression management (IM) tactics to create, maintain, alter, control, and protect the images that others form of them (Leary & Kowalski, 1990). However, with the myriad of IM tactics, it is unclear what type of PG fit perceptions will trigger which specific IM tactics. This dissertation develops and tests a model that situates IM tactic usage based on what type of PG fit (e.g., social vs. task-based PG fit) is being pursued and what level of PG fit (higher vs. lower) the individual is currently perceiving. To facilitate the connection between PG fit and IM tactics, I also develop a typology that classifies commonly used IM tactics for explaining the situations that will influence the selection of specific tactics. Finally, I explore the psychological and emotional aftermath of engaging in IM tactics by examining which specific IM tactics are more likely to promote or harm: 1-individuals’ perception of PG fit, 2-individuals’ perception how groupmates perceive their PG fit, and 3-groupmates’ perception of the focal individuals’ PG fit. I tested this model with a multisource, three waved time-lagged field survey study across a two-month period. I collected data in two samples: university staff employees who work in group settings and student groups in a business consulting class. Using structural equation modeling and latent change scores, I found that individuals are not passive respondents of their PG fit perceptions. Rather, they are active agents who seek to maintain higher levels of fit and alter lower levels of fit using IM tactics. Yet, the likelihood of using certain tactics for individuals with higher levels of fit differed from the tactics used by individuals with lower levels of fit. Some tactics were associated with improvements in fit, others were not, and a few were associated with reductions in fit. Generally, individuals who began with higher levels of perceived PG fit engaged in IM tactics that were later associated with improved fit. In contrast, individuals who had lower levels of perceived PG fit (namely social-based PG fit) engaged in IM tactics that were later shown to be associated with reductions in fit. These results suggest that individuals with high levels of fit tend to choose the “correct” IM tactics to maintain and improve their fit to an even higher degree, but the misfits tend to choose tactics that damage their fit even further. This highlights the importance of understanding that even though individuals are active agents who seek to manage their perceived fit, the specific actions they engage in to do so are complex and not always appropriate. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as future research directions, are discussed.

The purpose of the current study was to investigate factors in the work environment that impact job burnout among academic support professionals who work with college student-athletes. Specifically, the factors of job control match, fairness march, rewards match, and workload match were explored. Additionally, the extent to which emotional exhaustion and depersonalization had an effect on turnover intention was explored. Job burnout has been found to have negative impacts on professionals in human services professions. The sample consisted of academic advisors and learning specialists affiliated with National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I programs. Results suggest academic support professionals experience a high level of emotional exhaustion related to a mismatch in perceived job control, rewards, and workload. Additionally, higher levels of emotional exhaustion were found to significantly impact turnover intention. Practical solutions that address job mismatches are discussed along with theoretical implications for the person-environment fit framework applied in the context of the sport industry.

Person-Environment (PE) Fit has been a subject of research interest for over 100 years, and although much is know about the consequences PE fit and the types of PE fit, the actions that people take in pursuit of this desirable condition are less well understood. This dissertation develops and tests a model that explains how personality traits influence individuals' choice of coping mechanisms used in pursuit of PE Fit and their ability to use them effectively. Achievement and anxiety motivations influence the choice of coping mechanisms used in pursuit of fit. The efficacy of these coping mechanisms to change the level of PE fit is determined by individuals' ability to respond to feedback from the environment, indicated by narcissism. I also explore the influence of aspects of change in the environment that drive individuals to cope with uncertainty during times of change. Finally, the level of fit achieved and the changes in fit made over time influence individuals' well-being and organizational commitment. I test this model using a pilot study sample of student teams assessed over the course of 5 time periods and a field study sample of working adults assess over the course of 4 time periods. I analyzed this data using Regression, Structural Equation Modeling, Random Coefficient Modeling, and Latent Growth Modeling.

The title of this study refers to three different dimensions of goal orientation (GO), which is defined as the stable motivated pattern of cognition and action that results from the continued pursuit of mastery-approach, performance-approach, or performance-avoid goals in different situations over time. Individuals who are primarily motivated through high learning or mastery goals ("masters"), through high performance goals ("showoffs"), and by a high desire to find easy work or avoid failing their set performance goals ("slackers") will all interact on teams with varying degrees of goal completion. These differences in the likeness of GO of team members has implications for how they interact with team members, how individuals learn, and how the team performs. This study addresses this lack of attention by more explicitly examining how likeness on GO, a motivational trait associated with how individuals react to situations where they must achieve goals, can influence the degree to which individuals can effectively work with their fellow team members. In addition, this study also investigates how GO homogeneity at the team level influences team-level learning and performance. This study shows that at the individual level, GO congruence influences learning outcomes, contributions to the team, cooperative behaviors, and that this effect is mediated through metacognition and attraction to team members. This study also shows that psychological safety serves as the mechanism at the team level through which GO homogeneity influences team level performance and team-level learning behaviors.

none

Most individuals indicate a strong preference to remain in their homes and communities as they age. Aging in place can offer both economic and health benefits. As the population continues to age, it is especially critical that communities facilitate aging in place. This study aims to inform local policy by addressing two goals. First, determine potential unmet needs of older adults in Fulton County, Georgia through conducting a descriptive analysis; and second, determine predicting factors of community satisfaction through estimating a logistic regression model, based upon an adaptation of Bronfenbrenner’s social-ecological framework. Descriptive findings showed that local senior centers and meal services are prevalent. However, potential unmet needs include housekeeping, home repair, transportation, social involvement, and awareness of a senior resource hotline. The regression model revealed home repair services and demographics including marital status, education, race, and income were statistically significant predictors of overall community satisfaction in this study.

The public image of nurses has been of great concern to the nursing profession. This image views nursing as a female occupation with nurses having little power over their practice. Researchers claim that the stereotypical public image of nursing could constrain nursing practice. For instance, nursing skills may be under- utilised and the health care environment may not adequately reward nurses for their performance. There has also been a concern that the constraints arising from the stereotypical public image of nursing may adversely affect nurses’ work behaviour. Based on the Person-Environment-Occupation Model of Occupational Performance, the thesis examined how the public image of nurses could impact on nursing practice. The thesis also explored the person-environment (mis)fit in nursing, which is characterised as (in)congruence between nurses’ professional orientation (i.e., nurses’ self-image, role expectations and work values) and their actual practice (i.e., nurses’ perception of the image of nurses held by the public, and nurses’ perceptions of their actual roles and the rewards available to them in practice). In addition, the thesis investigated the factors that could moderate nurses’ perception of the person-environment fit, and how this fit could impact on their job performance and turnover intention. (For complete abstract open document)

This study was an investigation of the relationship between subordinates' perceptions of the quality of the leader-member exchange (LMX) relationship and their willingness to engage in organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and organizational commitment (OC). Differences in subordinates' perceptions of the quality of the LMX with their supervisor according to the gender of the supervisor compared to the employee (same sex vs. different sex) and dyadic duration of the LMX were also investigated. The possible moderation of dyadic duration on the relationship between subordinates' perception of the quality of the LMX and their willingness to engage in OCB and OC were also investigated. Lastly, the possible moderation of gender on the relationship between subordinates' perception of the quality of the LMX and their willingness to engage in OCB and OC were also investigated. This study surveyed direct service subordinate staff currently employed at a large rehabilitation organization in the Midwest. Results of research questions (RQ) one through eight are as follows: No significant correlation, r = .15, p = .35 for RQ1, significant correlation for RQ2, r = .38, p =.01, no significant correlation, r = .14, p = .38, for RQ3, no significant correlation, r = .30, p = .05 for RQ4, RQ5 model one was not significant, R2 = .10, F (2,38) = 2.21, p = .12, model two was significant, R2 = .19, F (3, 37) = 2.86, p = .05, RQ6 model one was significant, R2 = .26, F (2, 38) = 7.59, p = .002, model two was significant, R2 = .34, F (3, 37) = 6.34, p = .001, RQ7 model one was not significant, R2 = .10, F (2, 38) = 2.21, p = .12, model two was not significant, R2= .16, F (3, 37) = 2.31, p = .09, and RQ8 model one was significant, R2 = .26, F (2, 38) = 7.59, p = .002, model two was significant, R2 = .32, F (3, 37) = 5.98, p = .002. A summary of results and limitations and delimitations of the study are discussed, as well as implications and directions for future research.

In this study the social worker-in-work context relationship in a welfare organization is described within an ecological epistemology so as to construct an alternative view on employee mental health. A literature study shows how descriptions of the interconnectedness between a sense of individuation and a sense ofbelonging creates a double view ofboth levels to form a more holistic view of an ecological relationship system. Organizational interrelationships are described within this framework as being congruent or incongruent and thereby promote or detract from social work practitioner mental health. Conclusions and recommendations discuss the usefulness of such a perspective for social work management practice and suggest a framework for managers to view organizational mental health and to evolve ideas for co-creating a greater sense of coherence in disrupted organizations. / Social Work / M.A. (Mental Health)

abstract: Teacher mobility is a policy issue that affects students and school across the country. Despite a long-standing body of research related to teacher mobility, relatively little is known about how teacher-school pairings affect teachers’ decisions to stay at or leave their schools. Therefore, this study tested a model of teacher-school fit with a focus on the value that teachers and principals place on standardized test scores. Survey responses were collected from 382 K-8th grade public school teachers from 22 schools in two school districts. The results show that teachers who placed higher values on standardized test scores reported slightly higher levels of teacher-school fit and were slightly less likely to leave their schools within five years. Additionally, teachers’ self-assessed teacher-school fit showed a strong, positive relationship with teacher retention. These findings suggest that a better understanding of the factors that affect teachers’ sense of teacher-school fit may help reduce teacher mobility. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2017