Individual spirit at work and its relationship with employee work attitudes and organisational outcomes:An empirical examination in corporate Thailand

The purpose of this thesis is to conduct empirical research in corporate Thailand in order to (1) validate the Spirit at Work Scale (2) investigate the relationships between individual spirit at work and three employee work attitudinal variables (job satisfaction, organisational identification and psychological well-being) and three organisational outcomes (in-role performance, organisational citizenship behaviours (OCB), and turnover intentions) (3) further examine causal relations among these organisational behaviour variables with a longitudinal design (4) examine three employee work attitudes as mediator variables between individual spirit at work and three organisational outcomes and (5) explore the potential antecedents of organisational conditions that foster employee experienced individual spirit at work. The two pilot studies with 155 UK and 175, 715 Thai samples were conducted for validation testing of the main measure used in this study: Spirit at Work Scale (Kinjerski & Skrypnek, 2006a). The results of the two studies including discriminant validity analyses strongly provided supportive evidence that Spirit at Work Scale (SAWS) is a sound psychometric measure and also a distinct construct from the three work attitude constructs. The final model of SAWS contains a total of twelve items; a three factor structure (meaning in work, sense of community, and spiritual connection) in which the sub-factors loaded on higher order factors and also had very acceptable reliability. In line with these results it was decided to use the second-order of SAWS model for Thai samples in the main study and subsequent analysis. The 715 completed questionnaires were received from the first wave of data collection during July - August 2008 and the second wave was conducted again within the same organisations and 501 completed questionnaires were received during March - April 2009. Data were obtained through 49 organisations which were from three types of organisations within Thailand: public organisations, for-profit organisations, and notfor-profit organisations. Confirmatory factor analysis of all measures used in the study and hypothesised model were tested with structural equation modelling techniques. The results were greatly supportive for the direct structural model and partially supportive for the fully mediated model. Moreover, there were different findings across self report and supervisor rating on performance and OCB models. Additionally, the antecedent conditions that fostered employees experienced individual spirit at work and the implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.

Time and professional work in public sector organisations: an examination of four occupational groups in education and medicine

The aim of this thesis is to examine the experience of time of four professional occupational groups working in public sector organisations and the factors affecting this experience. The literature on time and work is examined to delineate the key parameters of research in this area. A broad organisation behaviour approach to the experience of time and work is developed in which individual, occupational, organisational and socio-political factors are inter-related. The experience of secondary school teachers, further education lecturers, general medical practitioners and hosoital consultants is then examined. Multiple methods of data collection are used: open-ended interviews, a questionnaire survey and the analysis of key documents relating to the institutional settings in which the four groups work. The research aims to develop our knowledge of working time by considering the dimensions of the experience of time at work, the contexts in wlhich this experience is generated and the constraints these contexts give rIse to. By developing our understanding of time as a key feature of work experience we also extend our knowledge of organisation behaviour in general. In conclusion a model of the factors relating the experience of time to the negotiation of time at work is presented.

The operation of repair in L2 learner conversation, group work and classroom discourse

The present study is an empirical investigation into repair in spoken discourse, specifically focusing on L2 learner conversation, group work and teacher-fronted classroom interaction. The core of the investigation concentrates on identification of the problem type, classification of repair strategies and examination of interaction in the repair process. A comparison between Conversation (CS), Group Work (GW), and Teacher-fronted classroom interaction (CR) suggests that more repair is undertaken in CS. The results of the study suggest that the fundamental differences between CS, GW and CR are of two types: in the frequency of repair and in the nature of the repair itself. It has been found that other-initiation for production problem repair occurs mainly in CR, other-completion is characteristic of GW and self-repair is most frequent in CS. Factors affecting the occurrence of repair in CS, GW and CR are related to content and social and communicative features of context. Importantly, the study shows the frequency of repair in GW falls between that of CS and CR in most of repair strategies. This result lends support to the argument that group work can assist L2 learners to develop their communicative competence. It is suggested that the analysis of the repair process in CS, GW and CR can be useful in throwing light on the intricacies of spoken discourse in general and can be exploited by applied linguists for both theoretical and pedagogical purposes.

Individual spirit at work and its outcomes:an empirical examination in corporate Thailand

The purpose of the present study was to conduct empirical research in corporate Thailand in order to (1) investigate the relationships between individual spirit at work and three employee work attitudinal variables (organisational identification, job satisfaction and psychological well-being) and three organisational outcomes (in-role performance, organisational citizenship behaviours (OCB), and turnover intentions) (2) further examine causal relations among these organisational behaviour variables with a longitudinal design (3) examine three employee work attitudes as mediator variables between individual spirit at work and three organisational outcomes and (4) explore the potential antecedents of organisational conditions that foster employee experienced individual spirit at work. The 715 completed questionnaires were received from the first wave of data collection during July 2008 and the second wave was conducted again within the same organisations and 501 completed questionnaires were received during April 2009. Data were obtained through 52 organisations which were from three types of organisations within Thailand: public organisations (N=237,185), for-profit organisations (N=244,155), and not-for-profit organisations (N=234,161). Confirmatory factor analysis of all measures used in the study and hypothesized model were tested with structural equation modeling techniques. Results were strongly supportive. In addition, although the model was invariant across rater of performance and OCB, there were differences across self report and supervisor rating. Additionally, the antecedents of organisational conditions that fostered employees experienced individual spirit at work and the implications of these findings for practice and research are discussed.

On the relationship between cultural diversity and creativity in education:the moderating role of communal versus divisional mindset

We conducted an experimental study with the aim of testing certain conditions under which engaging with cultural diversity increases creativity among schoolchildren. Results obtained from a sample of 149 Italian elementary schoolchildren revealed that engaging with cultural diversity, operationalized by asking Italian children to work with immigrant children on a cooperative task, led to an increase in creativity. Furthermore, we found that this effect was only present when a communal but not a divisional mindset (emphasizing group distinctions) was present. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of findings.

Group work and cognitive style:a discursive investigation

This article investigates the relationship between work-group members’ cognitive style (as measured by Allinson and Hayes’s Cognitive Style Index), the group’s task and setting, and the way in which group members behave in the group. Behavior of a homogeneous analytic, a homogeneous intuitive, and a heterogeneous group was observed in a mechanistic setting and analyzed using discourse analysis. This study is discussed in light of a previous study in which homogeneous analytic and homogeneous intuitive groups worked in an organic setting. These two studies use different methodologies (quantitative approach versus qualitativediscursive). The benefits of methodological eclecticism are discussed.

Individual and group differences in driving behaviour

Road traffic accident involvement rates show that younger males are over represented in accidents. A number of studies have shown individual differences in accident involvement. Questionnaire-based methods to investigate individual and group differences in driver stress and risk perceptions reported in chapter 2 and 3 revealed that neuroticism was associated with; heightened perception of personal risk, driver stress, and inefficient coping strategies. Younger drivers and female drivers reported higher levels of stress. Young male drivers assessed their personal risk and driving abilities less realistically than did other age and sex groups. Driving simulator-based methods reported in chapter 4 revealed that young drivers and male drivers; drive faster, overtake more often, and commit more `high risk' overtakes than do other age and sex groups. Middle-aged and elderly drivers were poorer at maintaining a fixed distance from a lead `vehicle'. Older drivers adopt a slower, more cautious driving style, but appear to be worse at controlling distance from a `lead' vehicle. Results are consistent with individual and group differences in accident involvement rates. Findings are discussed with reference to the implementation of driver education programs to reduce stress, the adoption of more realistic perceptions of risk among younger drivers, and the training of compensation strategies to counteract age-related changes in older drivers.

Can an episodic approach to social identification account for identification as interaction between individual and collective identity work in an increasingly flexible and transient identity formation context?

A review of available literature suggests that social identification exists at the interface between individual and collective identity work. This poster proposes that it is the interaction between these two processes that leads a person to define themselves in terms of their membership of a particular social group. The poster suggests that identity work undertaken by the group (or ‘the creation of identities as widely understood signs with a set of rules and conventions for their use’, Schwalbe & Mason-Schrock, 1996, p.115), can be used by a person to inform their own individual identity work and, from this, the extent of alignment between their identity and the perceived identity of the group. In stable or internally-structured groups collective identity work may simply take the form of communication and preservation of dominant collective identities. However, in unstable, new or transitional groups, interaction between individual and collective identity work may be more dynamic, as both collective and individual identities are simultaneously codified, enacted and refined. To develop an understanding of social identification that is applicable in both stable and transitional social groups, it is useful to consider recent proposals that identification may occur cyclically as a series of discrete episodes (Ashforth, Harrison & Corley, 2008). This poster draws on the literature to present these suggestions in greater detail, outlining propositions for social identification that are relevant to transient as well as stable identity formation, supported by suggestion of how episodes of social identification may lead to a person identifying with a group.

24-Karat or fool’s gold? Consequences of real team and co-acting group membership in healthcare organizations

Although theory on team membership is emerging, limited empirical attention has been paid to the effects of different types of team membership on outcomes. We propose that an important but overlooked distinction is that between membership of real teams and membership of co-acting groups, with the former being characterized by members who report that their teams have shared objectives, and structural interdependence and engage in team reflexivity. We hypothesize that real team membership will be associated with more positive individual- and organizational-level outcomes. These predictions were tested in the English National Health Service, using data from 62,733 respondents from 147 acute hospitals. The results revealed that individuals reporting the characteristics of real team membership, in comparison with those reporting the characteristics of co-acting group membership, witnessed fewer errors and incidents, experienced fewer work related injuries and illness, were less likely to be victims of violence and harassment, and were less likely to intend to leave their current employment. At the organizational level, hospitals with higher proportions of staff reporting the characteristics of real team membership had lower levels of patient mortality and sickness absence. The results suggest the need to clearly delineate real team membership in order to advance scientific understanding of the processes and outcomes of organizational teamwork.

When electronic management tools work - and don't work - in social-based distribution channels:a study of IT manufacturers and resellers

Electronic information tools have become increasingly popular with channel manufacturers in their efforts to manage resellers. Although these tools have been found to increase the efficiency of communications, researchers and practitioners alike have questioned their effectiveness. To investigate how top-down electronic information affects social channel relationships we consider the use of such tools in information technology distribution channels. Using electronic communications theory and channel governance theory we hypothesize that the usefulness of the tools is a function of the type of information inherent in each tool (demand creation information or supply fulfillment information) and the particular communications characteristics of this information.

The social construction of sleep and work in the British print news media

This article presents a sociological study of sleep issues in the British print news media, with particular focus on the relationship between sleep, work and the changing demands of ‘flexible capitalism’. Drawing on over 1000 newspaper articles from 1984 to 2005, we explore how and why sleep is framed or constructed in terms of continuity and change (in British working life and work cultures) and, equally, viewed as a neglected component of our social lives which is too easily sacrificed to the demands of the 24/7 society, long hours culture and the struggle to create a harmonious work-life balance. This is particularly the case for certain British work cultures in which sleep has conflicting and contrasting associations. Finally, we reflect on the broader class-based discourses and debates that arise from certain workers having their sleep patterns increasingly scrutinized and regulated, and the role of the media in any ensuing sleep/work ‘crisis’.

The fallacy of integration:work and non-work in professional services

Many organisations are encouraging their staff to integrate work and non-work, but a qualitative study of young professionals found that many crave greater segregation rather than more integration. Most wished to build boundaries to separate the two and simplify a complex world. Where working practices render traditional boundaries of time and space ineffective, this population seems to create new idiosyncratic boundaries to segregate work from non-work. These idiosyncratic boundaries depended on age, culture and life-stage though for most of this population there was no appreciable gender difference in attitudes to segregating work and non-work. Gender differences only became noticeable for parents. A matrix defining the dimensions to these boundaries is proposed that may advance understanding of how individuals separate their work and personal lives. In turn, this may facilitate the development of policies and practices to integrate work and non-work that meet individual as well as organisational needs.

Uncertainty and the influence of group norms in the attitude-behaviour relationship

Two studies were conducted to examine the impact of subjective uncertainty on conformity to group norms in the attitude-behaviour context. In both studies, subjective uncertainty was manipulated using a deliberative mindset manipulation (McGregor, Zanna, Holmes, & Spencer, 2001). In Study 1 (N = 106), participants were exposed to either an attitude-congruent or an attitude-incongruent in-group norm. In Study 2(N = 83), participants were exposed to either a congruent, incongruent, or an ambiguous in-group norm. Ranges of attitude-behaviour outcomes, including attitude-intention consistency and change in attitude-certainty, were assessed. In both studies, levels of group-normative behaviour varied as a function of uncertainty condition. In Study 1, conformity to group norms, as evidenced by variations in the level of attitude-intention consistency, was observed only in the high uncertainty condition. In Study 2, exposure to an ambiguous norm had different effects for those in the low and die high uncertainty conditions. In the low uncertainty condition, greatest conformity was observed in the attitude-congruent norm condition compared with an attitude-congruent or ambiguous norm. In contrast, individuals in the high uncertainty condition displayed greatest conformity when exposed to either an attitude-congruent or an ambiguous in-group norm. The implications of these results for the role of subjective uncertainty in social influence processes are discussed. © 2007 The British Psychological Society.

Group consensus in social influence:type of consensus information as a moderator of majority and minority influence

Three experiments investigated the effect of consensus information on majority and minority influence. Experiment 1 examined the effect of consensus expressed by descriptive adjectives (large vs. small) on social influence. A large source resulted in more influence than a small source, irrespective of source status (majority vs. minority). Experiment 2 showed that large sources affected attitudes heuristically, whereas only a small minority instigated systematic processing of the message. Experiment 3 manipulated the type of consensus information, either in terms of descriptive adjectives (large, small) or percentages (82%, 18%, 52%, 48%). When consensus was expressed in terms of descriptive adjectives, the findings of Experiments 1 and 2 were replicated (large sources were more influential than small sources), but when consensus was expressed in terms of percentages, the majority was more influential than the minority, irrespective of group consensus.