Work performance,affective commitment,and work motivation: the roles of pay administration and pay level

The purpose of this study was to investigate employee attitudes and behaviors among knowledge workers under different forms of pay administration and pay levels. To examine these issues, I collected data from two business units in a large Norwegian multinational company with pay plans combining individual and collective performance and behaviors as the foundations for individual bonuses; one with two collective components (profit and behavior of the unit and the organization) and one with an individual component in addition to the two collective components. After controlling for organizational tenure, education, gender, perceived unit support, perceptions of distributive and procedural justice, and type of pay plan, the key findings are that base pay level, but not bonus level, was positively related to both self‐reported work performance and affective unit commitment, and that these relationships were partly mediated by intrinsic motivation. Furthermore, moderation analyses revealed that the relationships between bonus level and the outcome variables were not affected by type of pay plan. Implications and directions for future research on pay in knowledge intensive organizations are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An empirical analysis of a goal setting questionnaire

This research presents an analysis of a goal setting questionnaire developed by Locke and Latham (1984). The Locke and Latham measure attempts to assess the core goal attributes of ‘specificity’ and ‘difficulty’, as well as other attributes of the goal setting process (such as perceptions about ‘performance feedback’, ‘supervisor support’, ‘conflict’ and ‘stress’). The psychometric properties of the measure were examined using respondents from employees of a large, west-coast electronics organization. A principal components analysis extracted 10 meaningful factors and identified a need for additional items. Results generally supported the meaningfulness of the goal setting factors and provide important directions for future research.     

Goal setting and competition as determinants of task performance

Although research has demonstrated that difficult, specific goals produce higher performance than easy or non-specific goals, little research has examined goal setting in relation to competition. In such circumstances, at least four potential outcomes are logically possible (i.e. complete or partial performance enhancement with competition versus complete or partial performance reduction). Thus, this investigation manipulated goal level and competition in a 3 × 2 factorial design. Participants (N = 109) solved routine arithmetic problems. Results demonstrated that competition had a significant dysfunctional effect on task performance within goal setting conditions.     

A fairer examination of rating scales when used for performance appraisal in a real organizational setting

Fifty-seven managers in an aircraft plant who had received rater training, appraised their subordinates (n = 376) using both a BARS format and a graphic scale. Less leniency and halo effect occurred with the BARS format. In addition, the use of BARS resulted in higher interrater reliability than ratings obtained with the graphic scale. Finally, the overall (global) evaluation derived with the BARS form was significantly less susceptible to leniency effect. A tentative conceptual framework to explain this finding was suggested.     

Empirical investigation of construction safety management activities and performance in Australia

The construction industry seems to suffer from a general inability to manage workplace health and safety to a level where an achieved improvement in safety performance by a way of pro-active measures can result in zero accidents. This paper investigates the effectiveness of safety management activities as currently adopted by Australian contracting organisations. A safety management survey has been conducted of contracting organisations operating in the State of Queensland, Australia. Based on a research model depicting statistical analysis techniques, a safety management index reflecting the intensity of level of safety management activities has been developed to provide a means whereby individual organisations can be assessed and graded on their safety management commitment and attitudes. The paper reports on a detailed empirical analysis carried out to examine the relationship between the intensity of safety management commitment and the overall safety performance, pro-activeness and record.     

Experimental investigation on extinguishing performance of a novel nanocomposite for gaseous fires

A novel nanocomposite was synthesized by incorporating three different types of flame-retardants and its extinguishing performance was tested for gaseous fires. The nanocomposite consists of the inorganic magnesium hydroxide (MH) nanoparticles as the dominant component, the nitrogen-based melamine cyanurate (MCA), and the phosphorus-based ODOPB. The wet mixing, dry mixing, and ultrasonic agitation were employed in the preparation process to enhance the homogeneity of the nanocomposite. The prepared powders were characterized using a series of analytical instruments including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal gravity analyzer (TGA), and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The efficiency of various samples in extinguishing gaseous fires was investigated in a lab-scale extinguishing system. The fire extinguishing tests indicated that the nanocomposite is considerably more effective in fire extinguishing than other powders in terms of extinction time and agent mass consumed. The fire extinction time of nanocomposite was 45.2% shorter than that of commercial ABC-MAP powder. Furthermore, the consumed amount of nanocomposite was 63.2% less than that of commercial powder. In addition, the order of extinguishing mass concentrations was as follows: the novel nanocomposite (103.7 g/m³) < MH/MCA (148.1 g/m³) < MH/ODOPB (155.6 g/m³) < MH (170.4 g/m³) < commercial ABC powder (281.5 g/m³) < MCA/ODOPB (384.1 g/m³). The fire suppression mechanisms of the nanocomposite were also discussed. It was inferred that the extinguishing mechanism of nanocomposite comprised of simultaneous chemical and physical inhibition actions involving chemical inhibition action, cooling action, and asphyxiation action. This study provides a promising attempt to gain benefits from the striking features of nanotechnology and flame-retardants in extinguishing gaseous fires.     

Accident in a French dynamite factory: An example of an organisational investigation

The 27th of March 2003, an explosion caused the death of four employees in a Nitrochimie pyrotechnic plant, at Billy Berclau, in the north of France. Following the accident, the ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development appointed INERIS to perform an investigation. According to the terms of reference, the investigation would cover technical (origins of the explosion, extent of damages) as well as organisational issues, as defined by SEVESO II safety management system requirements. This paper has a threefold purpose. It intends first to illustrate with an empirical case the current trend in safety auditing and accident investigation, targeting organisational factors, alongside human factors. There are not so many published cases of accidents analysed with an organisational perspective. Secondly, it shows that it is possible to investigate organisational dimensions (through articulation of safety engineering, safety management and human and social sciences) within reasonable time frames and a reasonable amount of resources. By focusing on key actors and asking appropriate questions related to key dimensions, investigating organisational accidents might not necessarily imply spending much more resources than other steps such as damage assessment, chronological construction or identification of technical scenarios, although there are also some prerequisite conditions needed to achieve this. Finally this paper should be seen as a technical communication beyond the pyrotechnic industry.     

The workload and performance relationship in the real world: a study of police officers in a field shooting exercise.

We examined the relationship between perceived workload and performance by evaluating the responses of police officers to 4 different draw-and-shoot tasks in a night field training exercise which was part of their regular training regimen. Sixty-two police officers volunteered to participate. Results demonstrated an associative trend among 3 tasks where shooting performance decreased and workload increased as the tasks became more complex. However, performance on 1 specific shooting task did not correlate with any of the other 3 tasks, and in this 1 exceptional case, insensitivities were observed in which workload increased but performance remained constant.     

An experimental investigation of the coupling between gaseous explosion pressures and a water volume in a closed vessel

An experimental test program has been undertaken on the pressure coupling between gaseous deflagration and detonations and an underlying volume of water. The two forms of gaseous explosions were initiated in an ullage space within of a closed cylindrical metal vessel. The vessel, placed in a vertical orientation, and was 2 m high and 0.247 m diameter. The depth of water used for the experiments was 1.44 m. For the combustion tests the maximum pressure recorded in the ullage was also developed in the water volume. For detonation tests however a distinct pressure wave developed in the water filled region, significantly modifying the time resolved pressure history at the vessel wall.     

连通容器内预混气体爆炸过程的实验研究

对连通容器内预混气体爆炸过程进行实验研究,具有重要的科研和实用价值.本文通过实验室内自制的实验仪器,详细研究了不同的点火位置、初始压力、初始浓度对连通容器内预混气体爆炸压力的影响.得出了在大容器中点火,会引起更大的爆炸压力.压力上升速率也增大很快;初始浓度对连通容器内预混气体爆炸的影响基本与单个容器中的影响一致.当初始压力增大时,连通容器的爆炸压力也随着一起增大,而且小容器比大容器增加更快.因而,在工业中,最有效的方法是隔爆,在容器和管道接口设置隔离装置,使爆炸不能通过管道传播.     

A meta‐analytic investigation into the moderating effects of situational strength on the conscientiousness–performance relationship

Debates about the utility of conscientiousness as a predictor of job performance have focused primarily on mean effect size estimates, despite theoretical and empirical reasons to expect variability across situations. The present study meta‐analytically demonstrates that occupation‐level situational strength is one important source of this variability. Consistent with theory, predicted uncorrected conscientiousness–performance correlations ranged from r = .09 to .23 (overall performance) and r = .06 to .18 (task performance), with stronger correlations observed in weak occupations. These results highlight the need for continued inquiry into the nature of situational strength, its impact on other predictor–outcome relationships, and the implications of these issues vis‐à‐vis theory and practice. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mentorship and career mobility: An empirical investigation

The literature on mentorship is briefly reviewed, revealing that many studies have documented the functions that mentors provide to proteges, including vocational and psychosocial support. This study investigates the link between these functions and the career mobility outcomes of proteges. Results from a random sample of 244 manufacturing managers supports previous research on the dimensions of mentoring. Further, vocational (coaching) and psycho-social (social support) were found to be related to managers' salary level and promotions. Implications of these results for future studies of mentoring are discussed.     

关于一起过电压事故的调查分析

通过一起过电压事故的调查分析,找出了发生事故的主要原因,并提出了整改措施及应吸取的经验教训。     

An experimental investigation of fluid flow and combustion characteristics of dual-fuel in a cylindrical combustion chamber

Combustion and fluid flow characteristics of coflowing LPG and kerosene have been investigated experimentally. A cylindrical water cooled combustion chamber was used to investigate the effect of changing the injection location and percentage of liquid fuel during gaseous fuel combustion. It was found that the injection of liquid fuel leads to an increase in the absolute value of maximum positive axial velocity and reduces the absolute value of the maximum negative axial velocity compared to the case of LPG alone. Also, a stable temperature distribution is noticed at axial distance of X/D approximately equal to 2.15 (where X is the axial distance measured from the inlet of diffuser, and D is chamber diameter). This is less than that of gaseous fuel combustion (approximately equal to 2.91). The change of injection location leads to a reduction in values of gas temperatures at X_inj/D=0.15 then it increased to reach maximum values at X_inj/D=0.35 which is approximately the same value for combustion of LPG fuel only. Any further increase in the injection location leads to a reduction in gas temperature, especially at the upstream sections of the combustion chamber. Also, it was found that values of temperature along the combustion chamber were decreased with increasing the percentage of the injected liquid fuel due to incomplete combustion of liquid fuel. Values of combustion chamber efficiency (η) for all percentage of liquid fuel at X_inj/D=0.35 are higher than those for combustion of LPG alone.     

The field performance of frontal air bags: a review of the literature

This article presents a broad review of the literature on frontal air bag field performance, starting with the initial government and industry projections of effectiveness and concluding with the most recent assessments of depowered systems. This review includes as many relevant metrics as practicable, interprets the findings, and provides references so the interested reader can further evaluate the limitations, confounders, and utility of each metric. The evaluations presented here range from the very specific (individual case studies) to the general (statistical analyses of large databases). The metrics used to evaluate air bag performance include fatality reduction or increase; serious, moderate, and minor injury reduction or increase; harm reduction or increase; and cost analyses, including insurance costs and the cost of life years saved for various air bag systems and design philosophies. The review begins with the benefits of air bags. Fatality and injury reductions attributable to the air bag are presented. Next, the negative consequences of air bag deployment are described. Injuries to adults and children and the current trends in air bag injury rates are discussed, as are the few documented instances of inadvertent deployments or non-deployment in severe crashes. In the third section, an attempt is made to quantify the influence of the many confounding factors that affect air bag performance. The negative and positive characteristics of air bags are then put into perspective within the context of societal costs and benefits. Finally, some special topics, including risk homeostasis and the performance of face bags, are discussed.