p. 1-212 / Submitted by Santiago Fabio (fabio.ssantiago@hotmail.com) on 2013-03-18T17:59:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2222.pdf: 2035567 bytes, checksum: 9efba765e4ef6f873401851689fa4577 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Tatiana Lima(tatianasl@ufba.br) on 2013-04-02T19:11:04Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2222.pdf: 2035567 bytes, checksum: 9efba765e4ef6f873401851689fa4577 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-04-02T19:11:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2222.pdf: 2035567 bytes, checksum: 9efba765e4ef6f873401851689fa4577 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / Diversos estudos confirmam a importância do comprometimento no trabalho (especialmente o de natureza afetiva) para a obtenção de vantagens competitivas e defendem que é possível desenvolver o comprometimento através de um conjunto articulado de políticas e práticas organizacionais que reforcem a percepção de suporte e de valorização das contribuições dos indivíduos. Com abordagem teórica baseada na articulação de dois grandes temas – Gestão de Pessoas e Comprometimento no Trabalho – buscou-se discutir os pilares de uma gestão voltada para o comprometimento e aprofundar a investigação sobre a influência das políticas e práticas organizacionais no comprometimento dos trabalhadores, através de um estudo de caso em uma organização varejista: a rede de lojas de telefonia celular Nexcom, atuante no estado da Bahia. A pesquisa abrangeu 200 colaboradores da organização pesquisada, com dados coletados através de questionários e tratamento estatístico baseado no programa SPSS. A amostra era composta em sua maioria de indivíduos do sexo feminino (62,8%), jovens (mais da metade possui até 25 anos), solteiros (74,0%), sem dependentes (69,2%), mais concentrados na área de vendas (55,3%), boa parte contratada como estagiários (29,3%) e com pouco tempo de empresa (61,3% estão na Nexcom há um ano ou menos). Foram analisadas as médias de percepção das políticas de gestão (conforme sua tendência a aproximar-se mais do modelo agency ou community) e as médias de comprometimento com o trabalho e com a organização (nas bases afetiva e instrumental), através de estatísticas descritivas e inferenciais; foram identificados e caracterizados padrões de comprometimento a partir das combinações dos focos (trabalho e organização) e bases (afetiva e instrumental), através de análise de clusters; foram analisadas as correlações entre a percepção das políticas de gestão e as diversas medidas de comprometimento. De modo geral, os resultados indicaram que as políticas de gestão da Nexcom são percebidas como mais próximas do modelo community do que do modelo agency; que o nível de comprometimento dos colaboradores da Nexcom com o trabalho é mais forte que com a organização e que para este último a base afetiva é mais forte que a base instrumental; que predominam os padrões de duplo comprometimento com os focos trabalho e organização e de duplo vínculo nas bases afetiva e instrumental; que a percepção dos colaboradores sobre as políticas de gestão da Nexcom está associada ao comprometimento com o trabalho e com a organização (base afetiva); que o grupo de vendedores tem menor comprometimento com o trabalho e com a organização (base afetiva) que os demais colaboradores. Os resultados obtidos foram analisados à luz da teoria e forneceram insumos para recomendações para a organização alvo da pesquisa. / Salvador

The "psychological contract" is one of today's hottest buzzwords. In this ever­ continuing competitive and changing environment rapid organisational and managerial change is required to enable business and organisations to survive. The objective of this research was to investigate the extent to which opinions of employees about the various psychological contract dimensions can influence the overall employment relationship. A literature survey concerning the psychological contract construct, its dimensions and the variables affecting the psychological contract was done. A sample of 394 employees within an Auditing firm was obtained, from which three departments (Management Consulting, Auditing and Information Systems) employees opinions on the psychological contract dimensions were compared. The results of the empirical study indicated that there are comparable differences in employee's perceptions of the various dimensions of the psychological contract. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

The purposes of this study are a) to explore the construct of "marital commitment" in order to achieve a more clear definition of it; b) to identify the component factors involved in the construct; and c) to design and develop an instrument for assessing the construct.

The problem in this investigation is retention of nursing students. The purpose is to identify, describe, and analyze existing relationships between satisfaction with college, academic achievement, and goal commitment for nursing majors in a baccalaureate nursing program that has high retention. Data were collected using two survey instruments and student grade-point averages.

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / This investigation is part of a group project that was conducted by a research team of the Department of Educational Sciences of the Rand Afrikaans University. The focus of this study is classroom teaching duties and educator commitment. Teaching is only successful if it leads to effective learning. In order to be successful in their teaching teachers need skills, knowledge and techniques that can be used simultaneously so that they can achieve predetermined aims and objectives. There can be no doubt that teaching is a complex task, and in order to accomplish this demanding task successfully, teacher's need to focus on different aspects in the learning teaching situation, like classroom management, classroom discipline, preparation of their lessons and the others. The research was based on assumption that for prospective and serving teachers to teach effectively and be committed to the teaching profession. In order to understand this problem in its total context, a study of the literature on classroom teaching duties and educator commitment was done.

In its earliest stages, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT; Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999) with youths appears to be a promising therapeutic approach. Experiential willingness and committed action are two foci of ACT, making their assessment an integral part of therapy. Field tests have found validity problems with the Willingness and Action Measure for Children and Adolescents (WAM-C/A). The current study utilized the Story Version of the Willingness and Action Measure for Children and Adolescents (SWAM-C/A). Results supported the relationship between the SWAM-C/A and measures of experiential avoidance and mindfulness. Factor analysis indicated the presence of several distinct willingness and action factors. These results support the need for continued work on measurement of willingness and action in youth.

No description available.

Recent research on attempts to motivate large-scale safety belt use has documented a number of shortcoming, including limited long-term evaluation data, excessive costs, short-lived intervention effects, and program delivery by outside agencies rather than indigenous personnel. The present study attempted to overcome these disadvantages. Specifically, the "Buckle-up for Bucks" safety belt promotion campaign conducted at a community hospital incorporated the following: a) indigenous hospital staff as program sponsors, delivery agents, and co-coordinators; b) a year-long program evaluation; and c) a combination incentive and commitment-based intervention program. Directed and coordinated through the Office of Community Relations, the hospital-based intervention included awareness sessions, randomly determined five-dollar a week cash incentives, and a commitment-based pledge card strategy. To be eligible to win the incentives, the staff members met the following contingencies: a) wore a safety belt; b) signed a pledge card; c) displayed the signed pledge card on their dashboard; and d) pledged for a duration that ensured eligibility. The evaluation data were collected for four phases: baseline, intervention, withdrawal, and a long-term, follow-up. For the overall sample, usage increased from a baseline mean of 15.6% to 34.7% during the intervention, decreased to 25.6 at withdrawal, and increased to a long-term follow-up mean of 28.6%. For the Pledge card signers and the Non-singers, usage increased from baseline means of 29.4% and 11.8% to intervention usage rates of 75.1% and 17.7%, respectively, demonstrating that the intervention had a differential effect on the signers and non-signers. Withdrawal and Follow-up usage rates were 56.0% and 44.9% for the Pledge group, and 17.2% and 22.1% for the Non-pledge group. A chi-square test for white noise indicated the data were autocorrelated. A time-series analysis was conducted to remove the serial dependency. Statistical significance of the intervention was examined from the time-series perspective and traditional analysis of variance procedures. Differences between approaches are addressed and theoretical explanations for the intervention effects are considered. Finally, suggestions for future research are offered. / M.S.

This study examined several competing models for the hypothesized role that organizational commitment and job satisfaction play in withdrawal behaviors. These models were tested against a null or base model from which the other models were nested. The results supported the null model as best describing the process, not the hypothesized model. The null model indicated that there was a progression to withdrawal, and that both organizational commitment and job satisfaction maintain a strong negative impact on turnover. The key variable involved in the withdrawal was commitment, not satisfaction. The reason that the proposed progression model was not supported was due to the fact that neither of these variables were significant predictors of absenteeism. The relationship between organizational commitment and job satisfaction was found to be reciprocal, with commitment having a much stronger influence on satisfaction. This relationship additionally served to enhanced their effects on the withdrawal behaviors. Another finding concerning the antecedents of both organizational commitment and job satisfaction was that need for achievement and motivation had the strongest total effects on both of these variables. This gives support to congruence perspective regarding organizational commitment and the dispositionalists regarding job satisfaction. / Ph. D.

A pledge card program designed to motivate safety belt use was implemented at a Baptist church in Blacksburg, Virginia. The intervention consisted of an educational insert and pledge card which were included in church bulletins on one Sunday morning. The insert described the risk of injury on highways and added a prompt for parents to provide positive role models for their children by wearing safety belts. The pledge card included a statement that signers would buckle their safety belts for four weeks when traveling. Data were collected at predetermined time periods on Sunday mornings between January 29 and May 20, 1984. The study consisted of five phases: Unannounced Baseline, Announced Baseline, Pledge Period, Follow-Up, and Long-Term Follow-Up. Ten percent of 441 individuals attending church when the pledge cards were distributed signed and returned a pledge card. Results revealed that shoulder belt use of pledge card signers increased significantly after signing the pledge cards, while shoulder belt use of non-signers did not significantly increase. In addition, shoulder belt usage of females was significantly higher than shoulder belt usage of males following the announcement of the research and throughout the remainder of the study. Evidence of participant reactivity is also presented. Suggestions are made for mitigating reactivity, for achieving greater impact on males, and for motivating more males and females to sign pledge cards. / Master of Science