Gedrag & Organisatie - Volume 19, Issue 3, 2006

Gedrag & Organisatie start binnenkort met een doorlopende reeks die expliciet gewijd is aan artikelen over onderzoeksinstrumenten. Het komt regelmatig voor dat individuele onderzoekers (of onderzoeksgroepen) instrumenten ontwikkelen die voor de praktijk of voor andere onderzoekers van belang kunnen zijn. Men kan denken aan vragenlijsten, observatielijsten, gedragsmaten, of psychofysiologische maten die voor wetenschappelijk onderzoek of in de organisatiepraktijk van belang kunnen zijn, omdat ze bijvoorbeeld een relevant psychologisch construct meten of omdat ze ingezet kunnen worden bij personeelsselectie of organisatieadvies. Voor zowel onderzoek als praktijk is het van belang dat men weet welke onderzoeksinstrumenten er in omloop zijn.

Cooperation within the judicial system

Peter Bevers, Esther van Sprundel, René Schalk & Sjo Soeters, Gedrag & Organisatie, Volume 19, September 2006, nr. 3, pp. 211-231

In two courts of law it was examined whether creating 'enabling teams', that is teams in which cooperation between judges, clerks of the court, and supporting administrative personnel was facilitated, had an influence on the perception of the quality of work, innovativeness, and satisfaction of employees. In enabling teams the judges, clerks, and secretaries meet face-to-face to jointly discuss the division of work and daily work activities in their sector.

In a courthouse (the experimental court), data were gathered at three points in time: before, nine months after, and one and a half year after implementing the facilitating team concept. In a (control) courthouse, data were gathered at two points in time. The implementation of enabling teams led to tasks being perceived as more varied and coherent. The frequency and quality of work-related communication improved. In addition, the relationship between the judges, clerks, and secretaries improved because the ingroup-outgroup differences between the groups were gradually becoming smaller. With respect to several aspects of quality of work, however, the results did not confirm the hypotheses. There was no improvement of innovativeness and satisfaction. There were some positive effects on flexibility of the organization, productivity, and absenteeism. The implications of the findings are discussed.

Stress or learning? Test of Karasek's growth and strain hypothesis among young workers in their first job

Hans De Witte, Elsy Verhofstadt & Eddy Omey, Gedrag & Organisatie, Volume 19, September 2006, nr. 3, pp. 232-250

Both hypotheses of Karasek's 'Job Demand Control' model are tested: high job demands (workload) and low job control (autonomy) are associated with strains (job dissatisfaction; strain hypothesis), whereas the combination of high job demands and high job control are associated with growth and development in the job (here: learning new skills in the first job; growth hypothesis). Both hypotheses are tested in two ways: (a) the mere combination of both job characteristics is associated with the expected outcomes, and (b) a statistical interaction between both job characteristics in predicting the outcomes is hypothesized. A large scale dataset of young workers in their first job is used to test all hypotheses. The results confirm both the strain and the growth hypothesis. We find evidence for a combined effect of both job characteristics, as well as for a statistical interaction between both variables. The lowest level of job satisfaction is found in the 'high strain' job, whereas the highest increase in skills is found in the 'active' job.

Quantitatively integrating empirical studies: The method of meta-analysis

Marise Ph. Born & Stefan T. Mol, Gedrag & Organisatie, Volume 19, September 2006, nr. 3, pp. 251-271

Meta-analysis is a quantitative integration of results of a series of empirical studies into a specific research question. The method of meta-analysis has obtained a dominant position in the social sciences and beyond, as it may help in obtaining an overview of the explosively increased number of research publications. This contribution discusses the basics and consecutive steps in performing a meta-analysis. A meta-analysis that we conducted on expatriates serves as an illustration. Next to the many points in favor of meta-analyses, such as having a better overview of a research domain and shifting the traditional focus on significances of effects to sizes of effects, several important controversies remain. One of these is the issue of waving away a specific cause of variance in research findings as a methodological artifact, or interpreting it as a meaningful case of variance. We maintain that every social or industrial- and organizational psychologist who wants to stay up-to-date scientifically should be able to interpret meta-analyses.

Feedback as a method for improving the performance and learning of teams

Wieby M.M. Altink, Carin J.H. Bossink, Hanneke. J.A. Bulthuis & S. Jansma, Gedrag & Organisatie, Volume 19, September 2006, nr. 3, pp. 272-289

Teamwork is essential nowadays. Already in 1992 about 82% of the organizations stated to work with teams. Most organizations want to improve teamwork in order to improve on their business, but also to develop the competencies of their employees. In this study two research projects from the Netherlands are discussed that tackled the relation between feedback (individual and team related) with performance (as judged by team members themselves). We find a relation between feedback and performance indicators. Effect-sizes are corresponding to other (meta-analysis) studies. The results are discussed in relation to methods to account on performance improvement within organizations. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.

Willingness to follow training among temporary versus permanent workers in relation to attitudes, well-being and behavioural intentions

Nele De Cuyper & Hans De Witte, Gedrag & Organisatie, Volume 19, September 2006, nr. 3, pp. 290-306

We investigate differences between temporary and permanent workers concerning their willingness to follow training. We moreover assess the extent to which willingness adds in explaining engagement, organizational commitment, life satisfaction and performance. Willingness to follow training concerns either the internal or the external labour market (internal versus external willingness). Expectations are based on (1) Human Capital Theory, (2) literature on boundaryless careers and the new psychological contract, and (3) ideas on temporary employment as a stepping stone to permanent employment. Results (N = 559) show that temporaries as compared to permanents report higher internal willingness. They do not differ on external willingness. Furthermore, both internal and external willingness positively relate to the outcomes, except for life satisfaction. The effects of internal willingness on engagement and organizational commitment are moreover stronger among temporaries than among permanents.

Meer dan 25 jaar geleden verscheen de eerste editie van dit toegepaste handboek over multivariate data-analyse. Deze zesde editie is dan ook een update van zijn voorgangers, maar kent een aantal opmerkelijke verbeteringen, zoals een nieuwe database om allerlei technieken te oefenen, handige gebruiksregels voor de toepassing en interpretatie van technieken, en als klap op de vuurpijl maar liefst drie nieuwe hoofdstukken over covariantie-structuuranalyse.

Om de relatie tussen werknemer en organisatie te kunnen beschrijven wordt vaak gebruikgemaakt van de term 'psychologisch contract'. De theorie van het psychologisch contract omhelst vragen als: 'Wat bepaalt wat werknemers en werkgevers in elkaar willen investeren?' en 'Wat gebeurt er als er zaken niet zo gaan als verwacht?'.