Matching Items (16)
Description
Researchers lament that feedback interventions often fail. Traditional theories assume a cognitive relationship between the receipt of feedback and its impact on employee performance. I offer a theoretical model derived from Affective Events and Broaden and Build Theories to shed new light on the feedback-performance relationship. I bridge the two primary streams of feedback literature-the passive receipt and active seeking-to examine how employees' affective responses to feedback drive how they use feedback to improve performance. I develop and test a model whereby supervisor developmental feedback and coworker feedback seeking relate to the positivity ratio (the ratio of positive as compared to negative affect), enabling them to be more creative and thus improving their performance. I test my model using Experience Sampling Methodology with a sample of MBA students over a two week working period.
ContributorsChristensen, Amanda L (Author) / Kinicki, Angelo (Thesis advisor) / Zhang, Zhen (Committee member) / Hom, Peter (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
I develop and test theoretical hypotheses for how employees' authenticity at work influences their motivational, relational, and effectiveness outcomes. These hypotheses are grounded in the idea that when individuals feel they display their true selves at work, they can more fully employ their physical, cognitive and emotional energies in their work roles, which in turn leads to higher levels of employee effectiveness (e.g., task performance, perceived value to the organization, and promotability). In addition to this personal motivational process, individuals who are more authentic also develop high-quality relationships with their coworkers, thereby receiving more instrumental support and minimizing the antagonistic encounters they have with their colleagues. Both types of coworker interactions should, in turn, also influence the focal individual's effectiveness at work. Finally, I hypothesize that the relationships between authenticity and these relational and effectiveness outcomes are moderated by certain personality traits, such that when an individual is highly narcissistic, has very low self-esteem, or has strongly held values or beliefs generally perceived to be negative or deviant, the relationships change: authenticity's positive influence on coworker instrumental support becomes less positive, and authenticity's negative influence on coworker incivility becomes less negative. These moderation effects are expected for employee effectiveness as well. The sample used to test these hypotheses consisted of 102 employees and their 16 supervisors from two private companies headquartered in the Southwest United States. Authenticity was found to be positively associated with employee engagement, coworker instrumental support, and employee effectiveness, and negatively associated with coworker incivility. Once other factors were controlled for, significant relationships remained with employee engagement and coworker support. Contrary to expectations, neither engagement nor coworker interactions mediated the authenticity-employee effectiveness relationship. A dark side of authenticity was found for two of the three personality traits: self-esteem moderated the relationship between authenticity and coworker instrumental support, such that when self-esteem was low, the relationship between authenticity and coworker support was significantly weaker. Additionally, narcissism moderated the relationship between authenticity and employee effectiveness such that when narcissism was low, the relationship between authenticity and effectiveness was positive, but when narcissism was high, the relationship became negative.
ContributorsBuckman, Brooke R (Author) / Lepine, Jeffery (Thesis advisor) / Peterson, Suzanne (Committee member) / Zhang, Zhen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Research suggests that behaving in an ingratiatory manner towards one’s supervisor is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, ingratiation is a powerful tool through which employees develop positive social exchange relationships with target audiences (i.e., supervisors) and subsequently obtain desired outcomes at work. On the other hand, third party observers of ingratiation often view this behavior (and the people enacting it) in a negative manner, thereby hindering ingratiatory employees’ ability to develop high quality social exchange relationships with these individuals. However, this research primarily focuses on how organizational actors perceive of ingratiatory employees while neglecting the social context in which this behavior occurs. This is an important limitation because there are compelling reasons to believe that the social context plays a crucial role in how individuals react to ingratiation. Specifically, the social context may influence the extent to which ingratiation is salient, valued, and/or perceived as normative behavior by organizational members both within and external to the ingratiator-target dyad, which in turn affects how this behavior relates to relationship quality with the target and observers. The objective of my dissertation is to address this limitation by integrating a social context perspective with social exchange theory to build a “frog-pond” model of ingratiation. To that end, I propose that employees’ ingratiation relative to their team members, rather than absolute levels of ingratiation, drives positive exchange quality with supervisors. Furthermore, I hypothesize that congruence between the focal employee’s ingratiation and other team members’ ingratiation increases employees’ social exchange quality with team members. I also shed light on the asymmetrical nature of ingratiation (in)congruence by investigating how different types of congruence and incongruence impact social exchange quality with team members in different ways. In addition, I examine how relative ingratiation indirectly influences supervisors’ citizenship behavior toward the focal employee via focal employee-supervisor social exchange quality, as well as how ingratiation congruence indirectly affects team members’ citizenship behavior toward the focal employee through social exchange quality between the two parties. I test my hypotheses in a multi-wave multi-source field study of 222 employees and 64 teams/supervisors.
ContributorsKim, Ji Koung (Author) / LePine, Jeffery A. (Thesis advisor) / Zhang, Zhen (Committee member) / Baer, Michael D (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Globalization has necessitated cross-cultural communication among groups and individuals alike, often beginning with management. This project considers how the degree of Power Distance, one of Hofstede's cultural dimensions, may change over time as a result of exposure to different, and often opposing, cultural values. We conducted two surveys 12 weeks apart collecting an initial sample of 317 and retaining a secondary sample of 142. We gathered data on demographics, education, on-campus involvement, cultural dimensions, and levels of comfort with different cultures. Through data analysis we found that as a result of exposure to different cultural values, cultural groups adjust their own views on Power Distance. Specifically, we found that the Anglo cultural group and the international cultural subgroup that had been living in the U.S. for less than 10 years trended towards each other on levels of Power Distance. We also found that international female students adjusted to new cultural surroundings faster than their male counterparts. These discoveries have led us to conclusions regarding the influence of awareness of other cultural values through international exposure, specifically that of Power Distance, as well as male versus female differences in cultural adjustment, and how differing views might trend towards each other with recurrent interaction.
ContributorsNiren, Alyssa (Co-author) / Davidson, Rachel (Co-author) / Lee, Peggy (Thesis director) / Zhang, Zhen (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Employees are directly involved in work tasks and processes which are necessary to accomplish unit or organizational goals, and accordingly, they may become aware of key mistakes, slips, and failures that are unbeknownst to the leader or supervisor responsible for the work unit or organization. Given that errors or deviations in work tasks or processes can have far-reaching effects within the organization, it may be essential for employees to share bad news with their leader or supervisor so that steps can be taken to address the issue or ameliorate negative consequences. However, although employees' sharing of bad news may be important to the organization and should be encouraged, supervisors may respond to the messenger in ways that discourage the behavior. Unfortunately, we lack an explanation of why and under what conditions supervisors respond positively or negatively to employees who share bad news. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation is to address this gap in our understanding. I draw from social exchange theory and the transactional theory of stress to develop a conceptual model of sharing bad news. I suggest that sharing bad news can be cast as a transaction between employees and supervisors that is mediated by supervisors’ appraisals of employees’ sharing the message. The quality of the relationship between an employee and supervisor, or leader-member exchange (LMX), is strengthened when supervisors appraise the sharing of bad news as challenging, or potentially rewarding; however, LMX is weakened when supervisors appraise the sharing of bad news as hindering, or potential harmful. In turn, LMX influences supervisor responses to the sharing of bad news in the form of evaluations of the employee’s effectiveness. In addition to these main effects, I also consider how aspects of the message delivery, such as the timeliness with which messages are conveyed and extent to which employees incorporate solutions when they share bad news, can influence supervisor appraisals of sharing bad news. Finally, I suggest that the extent to which the messenger is responsible for the bad news moderates the relationships between appraisals of sharing bad news and LMX. I test this model in three studies.
ContributorsChamberlin, Melissa (Author) / Lepine, Jeffery (Thesis advisor) / Nahrgang, Jennifer (Committee member) / Zhang, Zhen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Increasing levels of financial inequality prompt questions about the relationship between income and well-being. Using a twins sample from the Survey of Midlife Development in the U. S. and controlling for personality as core self-evaluations (CSE), we found that men, but not women, had higher subjective financial well-being (SFWB) when they had higher incomes. This relationship was due to ‘unshared environmental’ factors rather than genes, suggesting that the effect of income on SFWB is driven by unique experiences among men. Further, for women and men, we found that CSE influenced income and SFWB, and that both genetic and environmental factors explained this relationship. Given the relatively small and male-specific relationship between income and SFWB, and the determination of both income and SFWB by personality, we propose that policy makers focus on malleable factors beyond merely income in order to increase SFWB, including financial education and building self-regulatory capacity.
ContributorsZyphur, Michael J. (Author) / Li, Wen-Dong (Author) / Zhang, Zhen (Author) / Arvey, Richard D. (Author) / Barsky, Adam P. (Author) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2015-09-29
Description
The unicellular microalga Haematococcus pluvialis has emerged as a promising biomass feedstock for the ketocarotenoid astaxanthin and neutral lipid triacylglycerol. Motile flagellates, resting palmella cells, and cysts are the major life cycle stages of H. pluvialis. Fast-growing motile cells are usually used to induce astaxanthin and triacylglycerol biosynthesis under stress conditions (high light or nutrient starvation); however, productivity of biomass and bioproducts are compromised due to the susceptibility of motile cells to stress. This study revealed that the Photosystem II (PSII) reaction center D1 protein, the manganese-stabilizing protein PsbO, and several major membrane glycerolipids (particularly for chloroplast membrane lipids monogalactosyldiacylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol), decreased dramatically in motile cells under high light (HL). In contrast, palmella cells, which are transformed from motile cells after an extended period of time under favorable growth conditions, have developed multiple protective mechanisms - including reduction in chloroplast membrane lipids content, downplay of linear photosynthetic electron transport, and activating nonphotochemical quenching mechanisms - while accumulating triacylglycerol. Consequently, the membrane lipids and PSII proteins (D1 and PsbO) remained relatively stable in palmella cells subjected to HL. Introducing palmella instead of motile cells to stress conditions may greatly increase astaxanthin and lipid production in H. pluvialis culture.
ContributorsWang, Baobei (Author) / Zhang, Zhen (Author) / Hu, Qiang (Author) / Sommerfeld, Milton (Author) / Lu, Yinghua (Author) / Han, Danxiang (Author) / College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-09-15
Description自雇司机是公路货运司机中比例人数最多、最基层的一员，他们在公路物流行业中扮演着极为重要的角色，他们承担着各种来源的压力。本文以疫情前后按揭购买卡车的自雇司机为研究样本，基于本研究收集到的独特数据，研究发现自雇卡车司机在面临按揭压力时，倾向采取更为激进的经营及驾驶行为，表现为更少的休息天数、更长的工作时长以及更危险的高速驾驶行为，并在一系列稳健性检验中基本结论仍然存在；基于新冠疫情事件研究发现，新冠疫情带来的非预期性经济停摆和收入中断，导致疫情前的发生的按揭贷款的卡车司机面临更强的还款压力，在经济恢复后面对按揭压力更有可能采用激进的经营和驾驶行为；进一步，通过机制检验研究本文发现这种按揭压力主要表现为担心当前或者未来发生不能及时偿还按揭款。再者，基于人格性征和家庭支持的调节效应检验，本文发现神经质人格特征、谨慎尽责性人格特征以及工作压力感没有在按揭压力与自雇卡车司机激进的经营和驾驶选择上起到调节作用，这可能是自雇卡车司机面临的按揭压力都很大，个体性格特征很大程度无法缓和其压力感，而家庭的支持和家庭-工作平衡可以有效缓解自雇卡车司机面临按揭压力时提高工作时长和危险驾驶行为的倾向。
最后，本文设计一项随机对照干预实验，向自雇卡车司机发送短息或者微信，提醒他们避免疲劳驾驶和危险超速驾驶，然后观察发送短信微信前后自雇卡车司机经营及驾驶行为的变化，识别考察外界积极主动的关心和提醒能否起到相应的后果。本文发现对自雇卡车司机获得外部主动积极地的关心和提醒，在面临按揭压力时意识到简单地减少休息增加运营时长以及采用危险驾驶行为抢时间的策略可能给其带来很大的风险，从而相应地缓解对按揭压力的过度反应；进一步调节作用检验表明，短信干预实验在神经质和谨慎尽责性人格司机中起到更大的减缓作用，同时家庭支持较少时短信干预实现效应也更为明显。
ContributorsMa, Liqun (Author) / Shen, Wei (Thesis advisor) / Wu, Fei (Thesis advisor) / Zhang, Zhen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description企业文化以及中高层员工对企业文化的认同度影响员工工作绩效表现，探讨他们之间的相互作用机理，有利于厘清企业文化的执行效果，方便决策者根据现实情况进行决策调整。在员工工作绩效层面，受限于数据的易得性、代表性与普遍性，以往的研究更多关注于企业发展，同时，很少有学者关注中高层管理人对企业文化认同的影响及决定因素。青山实业子公司众多，中高层管理人员人数达六百多人，提供了足够的研究样本，正是在这样的背景下，本文从剖析核心企业文化以及中高层管理人员对企业文化认同度视角出发，结合内外部因素，探索企业文化认同度与工作绩效、工作满意度的关系，并确定影响企业文化认同的前因，分析其作用机制，并据此对企业为中高层个人发展提供良好平台提出策略和建议。研究发现，归属感需求，外向型性格，工作能力，组织文化强度，团队沟通，分配公平和企业声誉对于组织文化认同度有正面影响，且这些影响因素在控制常见变量的情况下依然呈现出显著性。企业文化认同度对工作绩效和工作满意度都具有显著的正面促进作用。
ContributorsHe, Xiuqin (Author) / Zhu, David (Thesis advisor) / Wu, Fei (Thesis advisor) / Zhang, Zhen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description2021年初笔者所在公司(D公司)邀请第三方咨询公司实施激励机制变革项目，历经半年完成调研、方案设计与培训落地，同年7月1日正式执行新的激励机制方案。 本文以笔者所在公司为实证调研对象，通过激励机制调整前后的两次问卷调查，与两次问卷调查期间的员工访谈与观察、财务数据监控等，深入探究企业激励机制调整前后公司员工敬业度与员工绩效的具体影响。
基于D公司激励机制调整，研究员工敬业度与员工绩效的具体变化，对D公司来说，第一可以验证激励变革效果，审视并梳理公司激励原则。第二可以关注员工敬业度对员工绩效的的作用机制，指导企业发展变革。相关的研究成果对其他激励变革的企业也有一定的借鉴意义，基于本文的实证研究对员工敬业度与员工绩效的作用机制有一定的理论贡献。
激励变革前后员工敬业度的变化，量表采用知名专业咨询公司盖洛普精心设计的工作环境评测与管理工具Q12，这个调研工具已经在世界上许多个大型公司实施、获得良好效果。Q12是设计用来调查员工对工作环境及员工敬业度的一系列题目。我在此基础上加入性别、年龄、工龄等变量，同时加入员工访谈与观察。激励变革前后员工绩效的具体变化，提取财务数据体现。
ContributorsLiu, Donghui (Author) / Zhu, David (Thesis advisor) / Cheng, Shijun (Thesis advisor) / Zhang, Zhen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023