Stress is a concept that can be studied using a variety of theoretical approaches, with a focus on the individual’s perceptions, the external stressor, or the physiological reactions of stress responding. However these approaches are often used independently, when they can be used complementarily to understand the nuanced relationship between the individual and the situation when appraising stressors as challenges or threats. The current study examined the relationship between individual differences in perceptions, situational strength (both as a categorical and a continuous predictor), and physiological reactions in a leadership task. Situational strength and leadership self-efficacy were found to interact, such that those high is LSE reported more appraisals of challenge as situational strength increased. / Master of Science / Stress is a widely known concept that has been studied in various ways (individual perceptions, situational characteristics, physiology, etc.). However these approaches are often used independently, when they can be used together to more fully understand the process of how individuals appraise stressors. The current study examined the relationship between the previously mentioned approaches within a leadership task. Situational strength and leadership self-efficacy (LSE), or one’s perceived capabilities to perform leadership duties, were found to interact, such that those high is LSE reported more appraisals of challenge as situational strength increased.

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Over the past few years there has been growing interest in the study of leadership styles and organisational culture. Internal issues and external environment challenge the leadership of manufacturing organisations, Scarborough(2001). The focus of the research was to gain insight into the transformational leadership of manufacturing organisations. Although leadership scholars have generated a significant stream of research on transformational leadership, there has been a lack of attention to the specific features in the context of transformational leadership such as contingency theories, attribution theory, and organisational culture. The study investigates the effects of transformational leadership on situational determinants and organisational culture in manufacturing organisations in Pakistan. Podsakoff et al, (1990) a 23-item measure of transformational leadership inventory questionnaire was employed to evaluate transformational leadership in manufacturing organisations. The objectives of this research study are: Firstly to study transformational leadership in Pakistani manufacturing organisations. Secondly to study transformational leaders' behaviour in manufacturing organisations with respect to situational determinants, i.e., situation strength, attribution theory, feedback, and organisational culture. Thirdly to develop hypotheses concerning the relationship between transformational leadership, and situational determinants and to develop a model of relationship between transformational leadership, situational determinants and organisational culture. Lastly, to suggest further research guidelines for transformational leadership phenomena and leadership in Pakistani manufacturing organisations. Results from the research show that transformational leaders tend to create weak situations for their followers in manufacturing organisations; they favour discretion to their followers and delegate decision-making to followers. Transformational leaders also tend to make external attributions for the causes of poor performance in their organisations, and assume follower's mistake as a learning experience. They try to establish close contact with their followers and seek feedback directly from followers. Transformational leaders favour clan type culture more in their manufacturing organisations; however adhocracy culture is not completely ignored. A new leadership alignment model incorporating various concepts focusing on leadership style, organisational leadership, and situational strength has been introduccd. Results from the data analysis indicate that there is a need to train more leaders in Pakistani manufacturing organisations to benefit from the transformational leadership style, as it has beene stablished that transformational leadershipis an influential form of leadership clearly associated with high levels of individual and organisational performance(, Shamir & Kark, 2002). As pointed out by Bass, (2002) leaders will be prized for their innovativeness, responsiveness, and flexibility, all linked to their frequency of transformational leadership behaviour.

Organizational environment (broadly conceptualized) has been shown to have an important influence on job choice (Chapman, Uggerslev, Carroll, Piasentin & Jones, 2005). Controversy exists, however, regarding how to operationalize organizational environment in a way that is both useful and parsimonious. Consistent with the perspective that situational strength meets these criteria (Meyer & Dalal, 2009), the present study found that participants were attracted to hypothetical organizations that were strong with respect to clarity, consistency, and consequences, but weak with respect to constraints. Further, individual differences in various psychological needs were shown to influence the strength of the relationship between situational strength and organizational attraction; for example, those with a high need for achievement were particularly attracted to organizations that were high with respect to consequences. These results not only contribute to the job choice literature, but also suggest that situational strength is more than just a moderator of personality-outcome relationships – it is an important psychological construct in and of itself, with its own nomological network that is worthy of continued research attention.

"Strong situations" have been shown to decrease behavioral variability, thereby attenuating the criterion-related validity of non-ability individual differences for criteria such as job performance (Barrick&Mount, 1993; Meyer, Dalal,&Bonaccio, 2009). However, it has been suggested that individuals, based on individual differences in implicit motives, may impute discrepant psychological meaning to social stimuli like situational strength--a process sometimes known as differential framing (James&McIntyre, 1996). If different psychological interpretations are attached to strong situation stimuli (e.g., Meyer, Dalal,&Hermida, 2010), an interesting behavioral "double-edged sword" is possible. On the one hand, behaviors pertinent to "primary criteria" (i.e., criteria for which external situational influences and pressures lead to targeted behavioral homogeneity) may occur among those who would not normally engage in them. But, at the same time, behaviors pertinent to "secondary criteria" (i.e., unintended, unforeseen, and potentially reactionary behaviors and/or attitudes) might also increase for some individuals (i.e., those with certain implicit motive characteristics). In other words, high situational strength may simultaneously constrain behavioral variability in primary criteria while serving as a stimulus for differential framing, thereby expanding variability on secondary criteria. The purpose of the present dissertation was twofold: 1) to explore the degree to which situational strength is differentially framed, and 2) to ascertain how the differential framing of situational strength may lead to unintended secondary outcomes. Study 1 findings indicate that, to a partial extent, situational strength is differentially framed by individuals with different implicit motives. Study 2 findings are largely consistent with extant situational strength theory, though partially inconsistent with study predictions.

We examine the moderating role of the situational and organizational contexts in determining unethical managerial behavior, applying the case-survey methodology. On the basis of a holistic, multiple-antecedent perspective, we hypothesize that two key constructs, moral intensity and situational strength, help explain contextual moderating effects on relationships between managers'; individual characteristics and unethical behavior. Based on a quantitative analysis of 52 case studies describing occurrences of real-life unethical conduct, we find empirical support for the hypothesized contextual moderating effects of moral intensity and situational strength. By examining these complex contextual moderators, we aim to contribute to organizational ethics research as we shed light on the critical role that context may play in influencing unethical managerial behavior.

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