Employee turnover is a topic of concern for a multitude of organizations. A variety of work-related factors play into why an individual chooses to change jobs, but these are often symptoms of underlying issues, such as conflict. This study set out to determine if conflict between employees and their superiors has an impact on the level of turnover in an organization, and if manufacturing versus non-manufacturing industry type makes a difference. The generated data were based on 141 selected cases from the ethnographic cases in the Workplace Ethnography Project. Linear and logistic regressions were performed, finding that there is a significant relationship between conflict with superiors and the level of turnover.

M.Com. (Industrial Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Thesis (Ph.D.) Wits Business School University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg South Africa December 2016 / Employee psychological capital (PsyCap) is described as employee belief in performing one’s work well (efficacy), in succeeding now (optimism), succeeding in the future (hope), and in persevering amidst challenges or opportunities (resilience) in the workplace. A body of research knowledge provides empirical evidence that PsyCap is linked to positive individual, team and organisational outcomes. A review of literature found a few studies that have explored determinants of employee psychological capital; particularly, no study had examined the relationship between positive organisational emotional intelligence (OEI) theory and PsyCap. OEI is the emotional and social climate of an organisation. Thus, the purpose of this study was to test a model fit of the influence of OEI on PsyCap. A positivist quantitative methodology approach was used to establish whether there was a significant positive relationship between OEI and PsyCap. A cross-sectional survey quantitative research design was adopted for the study. From a population of about 295,100 employees in the public sector, data was collected voluntarily from 668 participants, randomly sampled from employees in public sector organisations. A self-administered questionnaire adapted from previously validated instruments for OEI and PsyCap was used to collect data. The pre-test supported the psychometric scales of the constructs, demonstrating reliability, validity and relevance in the workplace. This non-experimental study adopted structural equation modelling (SEM) and Average Moments of Structures (AMOS) for data analysis. The analysis established a model fit, implying there was a positive association between OEI and PsyCap among public servants in Uganda. However, out of the eight dimensions of OEI specified for the model, only four dimensions, namely job happiness, supervisory leadership, organisational responsiveness and positive impression, were significantly associated with employee PsyCap. The other four OEI dimensions, namely, compensation satisfaction, organisational cohesiveness, work–life balance and diversity management, were not significantly associated with workplace PsyCap. The study thus recommends that, in Uganda, the OEI model by Stein (2005), particularly the dimensions of job happiness, organisational responsiveness, supervisory leadership and positive impression, can be applied to enhance employee PsyCap. The other dimensions of Stein’s OEI model, which do not have significant association with employee PsyCap, require further investigation to understand whether they can be applied. The study makes a theoretical contribution by linking the organisational emotional intelligence and PsyCap theory. It makes an empirical contribution to psychological capital theory by highlighting OEI dimensions that could develop PsyCap in organisations. Testing a theoretical model of OEI and PsyCap and establishing a model fit suggests that managers of public sector organisations in developing countries such as Uganda need to improve their OEI stance, in order to enhance employee PsyCap for positive individual and organisational outcomes. Further research can base on the study findings to advance knowledge in PsyCap. / MT 2018

PRELIS and LISREL 7 were used to test an on-campus interview model. The model consisted of five latent variables (1) resume, (2) cognitive aptitude, (3) face-to-face interview/likability, (4) self/employer fit, and (5) overall performance of the interviewee. Based on fit information, thirteen successive modifications were made to the model. The hypothesized model was not positive definite, hence, three error terms were constrained. In Model 3 two variables were dropped from the 15 variable model. Model 7 proved to be the best model. It examined the influence of two pre-interview exogenous variables (resume, cognitive aptitude) on the endogenous variables (face-to-face/likability, self/employer fit, overall performance of the interviewee). The influence of face-to-face/likability and self/employer fit significantly influenced the interviewees' overall interview performance. It was found that the paths from resume and self/employer fit to interviewee's overall performance were significant. However, the paths from cognitive aptitude to self/employer fit and likability to overall performance were not significant. / A multi-group analysis was attempted in order to determine the fit of the model with regard to gender and selection. However, the covariance matrices for the analysis of gender and selection were not positive definite. Therefore, it was not possible to examine gender or selection differences in the model. Based on the findings of this investigation, implications for practice are given. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-07, Section: A, page: 2468. / Major Professor: E. J. Burkhead. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

While there is considerable theoretical and empirical research in the marketing ethics literature, a major void exists in the examination and understanding of consumers' perceptions of unethical behavior. / The purpose of this study is to examine consumers' perceptions of unethical market behavior, investigate the perceived relationships among unethical marketing actions, and model the underlying structure of these perceptions. / To develop formal representations of how consumers cognitively structure their views of marketing ethics, a sample of 467 adult consumers responded to a multi-task, multi-method survey approach using three types of consumer response (judgments of similarity, conditional predictions, and ratings on evaluative dimensions) fitted to three types of models (tree structures, taxonomies, and dimensional space). / The results show that dimensional evaluations appear to have the most promise for identifying and understanding consumers' perceptions of unethical marketing actions. Furthermore, tree models and multidimensional scaling provide the best understanding of the underlying dimensions that establish the degree of similarity between pairs of unethical marketing actions. / The key implications from this study are that consumers use dimensional evaluation judgments rather than comparative tasks to evaluate the ethicality of marketing actions and that at least some of the underlying dimensions consumers use to evaluate the ethicality are clearly recognizable. Consumers appear to use several global dimensions, identified in this research as the degree of avoidability by the consumer, honesty, and maliciousness, as well as several lesser dimensions, identified as tangibility of effect and degree of effect. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-02, Section: A, page: 0599. / Major Professor: J. Dennis Cradit. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

This study examines the relationship between attitudes of non-management professional staff-members in the Malaysian Public Works Department (PWD) toward participation in decision making (PDM) and their organizational commitment. It also intends to analyze the extent to which organizational variables and individual/personality variables moderate the participation - organizational commitment relationship. / In the early phase of the study, an exploratory survey was conducted where open-ended questionnaires were sent to twenty-five non-management professional staff in the PWD. The data collected from this exploratory survey, combined with other empirical studies, helped the researcher to develop working hypotheses and the framework that guided the inquiry. Decision areas of PDM included in the questionnaire were participation in social issues, participation in personnel issues and participation in economic/strategic issues. The organizational commitment construct has four measures which include conformity to rules, desire to remain in the organization, willingness to exert extra effort, and commitment to develop professionally. The moderator variables for the organization were career advancement opportunities and organizational communication process while the individual/personality variables were superiors' attitudes toward PDM and sense of competence. From a total of 384 questionnaires which were distributed to non-management professional staff, 328 (85.4%) were returned and usable for the analysis. The statistical techniques employed to analyze the data include descriptive analysis, t-test, correlation analyses, and moderated multiple regression. / The results of this study show that male non-management professional staff in the PWD perceive they have higher levels of participation in decision making than their female counterparts. Also, those respondents who perceived they enjoy a higher level of participation tended to feel more committed to the organization. The analyses of moderator variables revealed that increased participation in decision making will increase commitment to the organization among the non-management professional-staff who perceive their superiors as having favorable attitudes toward PDM. For the respondents who perceive they have a high competency level, an increase in participation in all the three decision areas (social, personnel, economic/strategic) heightens their commitment to extra effort and to develop professionally but decreases their desire to remain in the organization. Non-management professional staff who perceive they have high opportunities for career advancement tend to demonstrate high commitment to remain in the organization, to exert extra effort, and to develop professionally. For those who were highly satisfied with the communication process in organization, increased participation in decision making on social and economic/strategic related issues raised their commitment to conform with the rules, remain in the organization, exert extra effort, and develop professionally. / Future studies of employees' attitudes toward participation of different kinds and in different decision areas will help the Malaysian managers to develop and implement more effective participatory systems leading to an improved quality of working life. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-11, Section: A, page: 4255. / Major Professor: Frank P. Sherwood. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

In an attempt to understand and explain the channel exchange process, Frazier (1983) presented a conceptual framework which describes interorganizational channel relationships through three processes: initiation, implementation, and review. A review of the channel literature indicated that the majority of the research has concentrated on the implementation process. / This research project attempts to correct the aforementioned problem by conducting an experimental study of the marketing channel review process. Folger's (1983) Referent Cognitions Theory (RCT) is used to examine the review process and to predict outcomes (cognitive emotions and behavioral responses) of the channel members. / To test the RCT framework, a role-playing methodology was used in which owners/brokers/sales managers of national franchise organizations from the State of Florida (162) were assigned randomly to one of eight experimental conditions. / The results confirm the RCT hypothesis that referent outcomes, referent instrumentalities, and likelihood of amelioration interact to determine one's feeling (satisfaction) with the channel relationship which, in turn, influences the channel member's intention to remain in the current channel partnership. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-11, Section: A, page: 4181. / Major Professor: J. Dennis Cradit. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

The purpose of this research was to examine whether certain caregiver personality characteristics, as measured by the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator (1989), were related to caregiver beliefs about teaching practices in early childhood education settings, as measured by the Teacher Beliefs Inventory (Peters, Neisworth and Yawkey, 1985). Once the beliefs about teaching practices and the personality characteristics were identified, it was expected that there would be patterns of personality dimensions that would be more compatible with each of the beliefs about teaching practices. The study also explored whether a caregiver's beliefs about teaching practices were related to the amount of education as well as their satisfaction with working conditions. Job satisfaction with working conditions included caregiver satisfaction ratings of staffing, space and materials, activity organization, and schedule. / Participants were 167 child caregivers from early childhood programs in Orange and Seminole counties in Florida. Caregivers were attending paraprofessional training classes. In summary, the present study suggests that for the caregivers involved in this study: (1) There were no significant relationships between personality characteristics and beliefs about teaching practices. A personality characteristics profile emerged of caregivers as being extroverted, preferring to learn from concrete information, basing decisions on affect rather than logic, and preferring a high degree of structure. (2) There were significant differences between caregivers' levels of education and their beliefs about teaching practices. When caregivers had more education than a high school diploma/GED, they had stronger beliefs about cognitive/developmental and maturationist/socialization teaching practices. This did not hold true for the cultural training/behaviorist beliefs about teaching practices. / Another result worth noting is that caregivers of children under three had the least amount of education and years of employment. (3) There were no significant relationships between beliefs about teaching practices and levels of job satisfaction. As a group, the caregivers were moderately satisfied. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-03, Section: A, page: 0465. / Major Professor: Belen C. Mills. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

Motivated by research in gerontology, psychology, and organizational behavior, this dissertation reports the results of a field study on the impact of ageism and age discrimination on older workers in work organizations. The study investigated beliefs about older workers, the relationship between beliefs and age discrimination perceptions, and the relationship between perceived age discrimination and older workers' perceptions of personal control, self-esteem, general and facet-specific job satisfaction, and perceived job alternatives. Questionnaire responses from 179 subjects were analyzed using hierarchical regression techniques. The results provide mixed support for the hypotheses. As in previous studies, age was related positively to positive beliefs about older workers. However, in contrast to previous studies, this holds true for managers, as well. Neither beliefs nor age-norms for jobs were related to perceptions of age discrimination. / Age discrimination had a significant, negative main effect on self-esteem, perceived personal control, general job satisfaction, satisfaction with promotion and growth opportunities, job security satisfaction, and perceived job alternatives. This held regardless of age. / Only the hypothesis regarding older workers' perceptions of age discrimination and self-esteem received marginal support. Specifically, older workers who perceived age discrimination had lower self-esteem than younger workers who perceived age discrimination. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-05, Section: A, page: 1813. / Chair: Lee Stepina. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

This study examined the characteristics of self-reported career beliefs among community college students. Specific hypotheses proposed a relationship between career beliefs and level of career decidedness, level of vocational identity, and gender. The dependent variables, career beliefs, consisted of thirteen factor-variables derived from successive principle-components analysis of 49 items from the Career Beliefs Inventory (Krumboltz, 1988). / Subjects (N = 686) were divided into "treatment groups" according to their levels of career decidedness and vocational identity based on their scores on the Occupational Alternatives Question (Zener & Schneulle, 1972) and the Vocational Identity Scale of My Vocational Situation (Holland, Daiger & Power, 1980) respectively. Significant multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) effects were found for career decidedness, vocational identity, gender, and for the interaction of vocational identity and gender. / Subsequent univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that subjects with low career decidedness were more likely to believe that external forces are responsible for their career decision making, and tended to be comfortable with their level of career indecision, compared to persons with moderate or high levels of career decidedness. Subjects with moderate career decidedness believed that college is necessary for a good job. / Subjects with high vocational identity were significantly more uncomfortable with career indecision, and more likely to believe in striving their best, even if success was uncertain. Subjects with low vocational identity believed in setting low goals and minimizing their efforts to avoid failure. The latter also tended to exaggerate the importance of events, and to externalize responsibility for their career decision making. / Male subjects believed that a college education is not essential to their career success, while females believed that college is a critical requirement for attaining a good job. Finally, in this study, females with high vocational identity were less likely to be employed as compared to males, or to females with low vocational identity. / The study suggests that career counselors should be concerned with the private rules and beliefs which may affect client career choices. Specific limitations and implications for future research are discussed. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-12, Section: A, page: 4025. / Major Professor: James P. Sampson, Jr. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1990.