Nations and organizations:a comparative study of English and Indian work-related attitudes and values in matched manufacturing firms

This thesis reports a cross-national study carried out in England and India in an attempt to clarify the association of certain cultural and non-cultural characteristics with people's work-related attitudes and values, and with the structure of their work organizations. Three perspectives are considered to be relevant to the objectives of the study. The contingency perspective suggests that a 'fit' between an organization's context and its structural arrangements will be fundamentally necessary for achieving success and survival. The political economy perspective argues for the determining role of the social and economic structures within which the organization operates. The culturalist perspective looks to cultural attitudes and values of organizational members for an explanation for their organization's structure. The empirical investigation was carried out in three stages in each of the two countries involved by means of surveys of cultural attitudes, work-related attitudes and organizational structures and systems. The cultural surveys suggested that Indian and English people were different from one another with regard to fear of, and respect and obedience to, their seniors, ability to cope with ambiguity, honesty, independence, expression of emotions, fatalism, reserve, and care for others; they were similar with regard to tolerance, friendliness, attitude to change, attitude to law, self-control and self-confidence, and attitude to social differentiation. The second stage of the study, involving the employees of fourteen organizations, found that the English ones perceived themselves to have more power at work, expressed more tolerance for ambiguity, and had different expectations from their job than did the Indian equivalents. The two samples were similar with respect to commitment to their company and trust in their colleagues. The findings also suggested that employees' occupations, education and age had some influences on their work-related attitudes. The final stage of the research was a study of structures, control systems, and reward and punishment policies of the same fourteen organizations which were matched almost completely on their contextual factors across the two countries. English and Indian organizations were found to be similar in terms of centralization, specialization, chief executive's span of control, height and management control strategies. English organizations, however, were far more formalized, spent more time on consultation and their managers delegated authority lower down the hierarchy than Indian organizations. The major finding of the study was the multiple association that cultural, national and contingency factors had with the structural characteristics of the organizations and with the work-related attitudes of their members. On the basis of this finding, a multi-perspective model for understanding organizational structures and systems is proposed in which the contributions made by contingency, political economy and cultural perspectives are recognized and incorporated.

Transformational Leadership and Job-related Learning

Various empirical studies have examined transformational leadership on the effects of followers and organisations. Transformational leadership has been related to individual attitudes and behaviors such as satisfaction with leaders, organisational citizenship behavior, organisational commitment, motivation, trust in leader, creativity, performance, employee involvement, and empowerment. It has also been linked to such organisational outcomes as innovation, change, productivity, ethical climate, and organisational learning. Organisational learning occurs at three levels: individual, group, and organisational. The focus of the present study is on the individual level—job-related learning. Job-related learning is a measure of individual job behavior pertaining to acquisition of knowledge and skills and enhancement of job performance within the context of the individual’s workplace. It argues that transformational leadership inculcates individuals’ drive to learn. The aim of the study is to examine the relationship between transformational leadership and job-related learning. Transformational leadership is composed of four unique but interrelated facets--idealised influence, individualised consideration, inspirational motivation, and intellectual stimulation. The research results support the hypothesis that transformational leadership is positively related to job-related learning. The implications of the research findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Job-related strain and sexual health difficulties among heterosexual men from three european countries: The role of culture and emotional support

Introduction. Epidemiological evidence for the association between job-related stress and sexual difficulties in men is largely lacking. Little is known about the factors that may mediate or moderate this relationship. Aim. This study analyzes the association between job-related difficulties and men’s sexual difficulties. Main Outcome Measures. Job-related difficulties were measured by 10 yes/no questions that addressed a range of adverse workplace situations. The experience of sexual difficulties in the past 12 months was assessed by using seven dichotomous indicators developed in the National Study of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (NATSAL) 2000. Method. Analyses were carried out using data from a 2011 online study of Portuguese, Croatian, and Norwegian men (N = 2,112). Multivariate logistic regression and mediation analysis were used to test the hypothesized association. Results. Men with job-related concerns reported lower sexual satisfaction than men without such concerns did (F = 7.53, P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis confirmed the association between job-related and sexual health concerns. The odds of experiencing one or more sexual health difficulties in the past 12 months were about 1.8 times higher among men who reported the highest levels of workplace difficulties than among men who experienced no such difficulties. The odds of reporting sexual health difficulties were significantly reduced by a higher income (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.87, P < 0.01), emotional intimacy with one’s partner (AOR = 0.93, P < 0.001), having children (AOR = 0.62–0.66, P < 0.01), and country-specific effects (AOR = 1.98–2.22, P < 0.001). In all three countries, the relationship between job-related and sexual health difficulties was mediated by anxiety and depression. Conclusions. The findings suggest that negative mood is the mechanism behind the association between workplace strain and sexual difficulties. Emotional support, such as couple intimacy and fatherhood, can reduce—independently from sociocultural and socioeconomic factors—the risk of sexual health concerns.

The effect of organisational culture perceptions on the relationship between budgetary participation and managerial job-related outcomes

The impact of managers' perceptions of their organizational culture (OC) on the relationship between budgetary participation (BP) and managerial job-related outcomes, operationalized as managerial performance and job-related tension (JRT) is examined. Data supported predictions that increasing BP would lower JRT for managers perceiving a high emphasis on innovation within their OC, regardless of their perceptions of an emphasis on attention to detail. When managers perceived low innovation, however, their perception of level of attention to detail had a significant effect on the relationship between BP and JRT.

Smoking and adolescence: Exploring tobacco consumption and related attitudes in three different age groups in Switzerland

The present study constitutes an investigation of tobacco consumption, related attitudes and individual differences in smoking or non-smoking behaviors in a sample of adolescents of different ages in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. We investigated three school-age groups (7th-grade, 9th-grade, and the second-year of high school) for differences in attitude and social and cognitive dimensions. We present both descriptive and inferential statistics. On an inferential level, we present a binary logistic regression-based model predicting risk of smoking. The resulting model most importantly suggests a strong relationship between smoking and alcohol consumption (both regular and sporadic). We interpret this result in terms of both the impact of the actual campaigns and the cognitive processes associated with adolescence.

Family-based dietary intervention in the STRIP study – influences on diet and diet-related attitudes

The focus of this dissertation was to investigate the effects of family-based dietary intervention during childhood and adolescence. The participants comprised of children and parents who participated in a longitudinal, randomised atherosclerosis prevention trial (STRIP study). The intervention families (n=540) took part in a dietary intervention since the child’s age of 8- months. The control group (n=522) did not receive any tailored dietary intervention. The main focus of the intervention was to improve the quality of dietary fat. The diet of children and parents was evaluated by daily food records and dietrelated attitudes by a questionnaire. The dietary intervention influenced, favourably, the dietary fat quality in children and parents. Fat quality improved mainly by the decrease of saturated fat intake. Some minor effects of the intervention were also observed in children’s fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption although the F&V consumption was very low. The intervention increased parental interest in healthy eating, but there was no difference in interest in natural products or in attitudes towards hedonic eating attitudes between the intervention and control parents. Parents’ interest in healthy eating associated with parents’ and children’s high fruit and vegetable consumption but not with their fat quality ratio. On the other hand, dietary fat quality improved at every level of interest in healthy eating. It seems that the main target of the intervention, the dietary fat quality of the children, was promoted effectively. In the future, more emphasis should be given on increasing unsaturated fat intake and on elevating F&V consumption in children. Children’s diet, especially F&V consumption, associated with diet-related attitudes of the parents. Therefore, co-operation with parents and family-based premises for working should be capitalized upon when promoting healthy eating in children and adolescents.

A study on the Effect of Psychological Empowerment on Job Satisfaction and Job Related Stress Among the Bank Employees

The present research is carried out to understand how psychological empowerment, job satisfaction and job related stress are related.In banking sector, employees are less satisfied and less motivated than employees in other lines of work (Kelley, 1990; Bajpai, Naval and Deepak, 2004). The banking industry also suffers from high employee turnover rate (Branham, 2005; Nelson, 2007) and high level of stress (Chen and Lien, 2008). There are no adequate studies linking psychological empowerment and job satisfaction, stress, turnover etc. among employees of banking sector. Lack of psychological empowerment could be a reason for these problems faced by banking sector. Further majority of studies in psychological empowerment are carried out in manufacturing sector and studies in service sector are concentrated on hotel industry and hospitals. Empowerment takes different forms in different contexts (Zimmerman, 1995). In the light of above discussion, the present research is directed to explore the dimensions of psychological empowerment of employees in banking sector and to find out whether high psychological empowerment can increase job satisfaction and reduce job related stress among employees in banking sector

A study on the Effect of Psychological Empowerment on Job Satisfaction and Job Related Stress Among the Bank Employees

This study focuses on psychological empowerment of employees in banking sector because of the reasons stated below: Firstly, very little research has been conducted in understanding empowerment as a psychological construct. Majority of the studies have been conducted on the various empowerment practices in the organizations. Secondly, there is no empirical evidence that the empowerment practice will create a subjective feeling of empowerment within the individual. Employee empowerment will be effective only if the employees actually experience the empowerment. Even if the organizations have the empowerment practices like providing power and open communication it is not necessary that the employee is empowered. Empowerment describes only the condition of work environment. It does not describe employees’ response to these conditions. These responses form the basis for psychological empowerment

Organizational commitment profiles and job satisfaction among Greek private and public sector employees

Recent research into organizational commitment has advocated a profiles-based approach. However, with the exception of Wasti, published findings are confined to North American samples. This article examines the relationships between organizational commitment profiles and job satisfaction in Greece. Greek organizations have rarely been the subject of detailed examination, so the study provides baseline information regarding levels of organizational commitment and job satisfaction in Greece. Both private sector (N = 1119) and public sector (N = 476) employees in Greece were surveyed, as this sectoral distinction is regularly associated with different patterns of job-related attitudes. The contrasts between Greek and Anglo-American values present a new challenge to the profiles approach. The results confirm the utility of the profiles approach to the study of organizational commitment. Affective organizational commitment was found to be most influential with respect to levels of intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction. This concurs with other studies of the behavioural outcomes of commitment. Copyright © 2007 Sage Publications.

Affect networks:a structural analysis of the relationship between work ties and job-related affect

The relationship between organizational networks and employees' affect was examined in 2 organizations. In Study 1, social network analysis of work ties and job-related affect for 259 employees showed that affect converged within work interaction groups. Similarity of affect between employees depended on the presence of work ties and structural equivalence. Affect was also related to the size and density of employees' work networks. Study 2 used a 10-week diary study of 31 employees to examine a merger of 2 organizational divisions and found that negative changes in employees' affect were related to having fewer cross-divisional ties and to experiencing greater reductions in network density. The findings suggest that affect permeates through and is shaped by organizational networks.

Understanding the IT-related attitudes and needs of persons with age-related macular degeneration : a case study

In the UK, 20 per cent of people aged 75 years and over are living with sight loss; this percentage is expected to increase as the population ages (RNIB, 2011). Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the UK’s leading cause of severe visual impairment amongst the elderly. It accounts for 16,000 blind/partial sight registrations per year and is the leading cause of blindness among people aged 55 years and older in western countries (Bressler, 2004). Our ultimate goal is to develop an assistive mobile application to support accurate and convenient diet data collection on which basis to then provide customised dietary advice and recommendations in order to help support individuals with AMD to mitigate their ongoing risk and retard the progression of the disease. In this paper, we focus on our knowledge elicitation activities conducted to help us achieve a deep and relevant understanding of our target user group. We report on qualitative findings from focus groups and observational studies with persons with AMD and interviews with domain experts which enable us to fully appreciate the impact that technology may have on our intended users as well as to inform the design and structure of our proposed mobile assistive application.

Gender differences in the relationships between bullying at school and unhealthy eating and shape-related attitudes and behaviours

Background. Previous research has found links between being a victim of bullying and reporting more unhealthy eating behaviours and cognitions, particularly in girls. However, little is known about the factors that might mediate these relationships. Aim. The present study compared the relationships between bullying, emotional adjustment, restrained eating, and body dissatisfaction in adolescent boys and girls. Sample/method. Self-report data were collected from a sample of 11- to 14-year-olds (N= 376) on experiences of bullying, emotional symptoms, and unhealthy eating and shape-related attitudes and behaviours. Results. Bullying, emotional symptoms, restrained eating, and body dissatisfaction were all correlated. Emotional symptoms were found to significantly mediate the relationships between verbal bullying with body dissatisfaction in girls but not in boys. Conclusions. Findings suggest that the experience of being verbally bullied places adolescent girls at risk of developing emotional problems which can then lead to body dissatisfaction. Longitudinal research is necessary to disentangle these pathways in more detail to facilitate the development of informed interventions to support children who are being bullied.

Understanding the IT-related attitudes and needs of persons with age-related macular degeneration:a case study

In the UK, 20 per cent of people aged 75 years and over are living with sight loss; this percentage is expected to increase as the population ages (RNIB, 2011). Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the UK’s leading cause of severe visual impairment amongst the elderly. It accounts for 16,000 blind/partial sight registrations per year and is the leading cause of blindness among people aged 55 years and older in western countries (Bressler, 2004). Our ultimate goal is to develop an assistive mobile application to support accurate and convenient diet data collection on which basis to then provide customised dietary advice and recommendations in order to help support individuals with AMD to mitigate their ongoing risk and retard the progression of the disease. In this paper, we focus on our knowledge elicitation activities conducted to help us achieve a deep and relevant understanding of our target user group. We report on qualitative findings from focus groups and observational studies with persons with AMD and interviews with domain experts which enable us to fully appreciate the impact that technology may have on our intended users as well as to inform the design and structure of our proposed mobile assistive application.

Job-demand for Learning, Job-related Learning and Need for Achievement

Individual learning is important, as it is both a precursor and an outcome of learning in organisations. Job-related learning is driven by external factors (e.g., the demands of the job) and internal factors (i.e., the personality of the individual). The study examined whether need for achievement moderates the relationship between job-demand for learning and job-related learning. Data were obtained from 153 full-time, white-collar employees from a range of industries. Hierarchical regression analysis using the product term revealed that need for achievement moderates the relationship between job-demand for learning and job-related learning. Specifically, although job-demand for learning is correlated positively to job-related learning for both the high and the low need for achievement groups, this correlation is stronger amongst the high group. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for future research and practice.