Not seeing eye to eye: differences in supervisor and subordinate perceptions of and attributions for psychological contract breach

This study examines supervisor and subordinate perceptions of and attributions for psychological contract breach. The data suggest that supervisor and subordinate perceptions are most likely to differ on the extent to which the organization violated its obligations to provide fair pay, advancement opportunities, and a good employment relationship. In addition, the results indicate that the greater the degree of psychological contract breach reported by subordinates, the less committed they are to the organization and the lower their job performance (as rated by their supervisor). Moreover, when psychological contract breach is perceived, supervisors' and subordinates' attributions regarding the reasons for the breach are likely to differ. Specifically, the findings suggest that subordinates are more likely to attribute breach to the organization's intentional disregard for the commitments that it had made to the employee, while supervisors are more inclined to attribute breach to situations beyond the organization's direct control. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of perceived power of supervisor on subordinate stress and motivation: the moderating role of subordinate characteristics

This study examined the moderating effects of subordinate individual differences, specially self‐esteem and locus of control, on the relationships between perceived supervisor power and subordinate motivation and stress. Results showed that perceived supervisor power was more strongly related to increased motivation and decreased stress for subordinates with low self‐esteem than for those with high self‐esteem. For locus of control, perceived reward, coercive and referent power were more positively related to motivation, and legitimate, expert and referent power were more negatively related to stress for externals than for internals. On the other hand, supervisor expert power and legitimate power were positively associated with increased motivation for internals, but not for externals. Implications for future research and practising managers are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of performance attributions and outcome dependence on leader feedback behavior following poor subordinate performance

While feedback is considered to be among the most effective motivational tools available in organizations, there is substantial evidence that leaders are often poor sources of feedback. Following poor subordinate performance, leaders have been shown to avoid providing feedback, delay providing feedback, and distort feedback to make it less negative. While these findings are strong, there is evidence that this ‘mum’ effect may be limited by certain boundary conditions. A 2×2 experimental study was designed to determine the extent to which leader performance attributions (effort and ability) and outcome dependence (high and low) affected the frequency, latency, and type of feedback provided to poor performers. The results suggest that the feedback offered to poor performers by leaders is significantly affected by both performance attributions and outcome dependence. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Career success and personal failure experiences and Type A behaviour

This study examines the relationship of Type A behaviour to career experiences associated with feelings of personal failure (Korman and Korman, 1980). Seventy-five managers completed the Jenkins Activity Survey, a widely used paper-and-pencil index of Type A behaviour, and measures of various career experiences. The data provided concurrent validation of the Korman's model and also showed Type A behaviour to be significantly related to career outcomes reflecting disappointment, alienation and personal failure. A case is made for the inclusion of Type A in career research. Implications for careerists and their organizations are offered.     

Supervisors' emotional exhaustion and abusive supervision: The moderating roles of perceived subordinate performance and supervisor self‐monitoring

Drawing from conservation of resources theory, this study aims to create new knowledge on the antecedents of abusive supervision. Results across 2 independent field studies within a manufacturing context (Study 1) and a customer service context (Study 2) consistently demonstrated a 3‐way interaction pattern, such that supervisors' experiences of emotional exhaustion, perceived subordinate performance, and self‐monitoring were jointly associated with subordinates' abusive supervision perceptions. A supplementary scenario experiment further corroborated this pattern. Together, the present studies illustrate a contingency model of abusive supervision's origins, highlighting emotional exhaustion as an important risk factor that is particularly likely to trigger abusive behavior among supervisors with lower (rather than higher) self‐monitoring who are faced with a relatively underperforming subordinate. As such, this research advances the abusive supervision literature by offering new insights into the complex resource conservation processes that may give rise to subordinates' abuse perceptions.     

The role of human capital,motivation and supervisor sponsorship in predicting career success

Based on Turner's (1960) contest‐ and sponsored‐mobility systems, a comprehensive model of the determinants of career success was examined. Human capital and motivational variables represented the contest‐mobility system whereas leader–member exchange and supervisor career mentoring represented the sponsored‐mobility system. Results based on data from 245 supervisor–subordinate dyads indicated limited support for the contest‐mobility system and strong support for the sponsored‐mobility system. Interestingly, the two forms of sponsorship were differentially related to career outcomes. Specifically, leader–member exchange was positively related to salary progression, promotability, and career satisfaction. Career mentoring, however, was only related to promotability. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The supervisor POS–LMX–subordinate POS chain: Moderation by reciprocation wariness and supervisor's organizational embodiment

We present three studies providing an increased understanding of the interdependence between perceived organizational support (POS) and leader–member exchange (LMX). Using employees from a social service agency and new hires from a variety of organizations, we report evidence for a relational chain leading from supervisors' perceptions of support by the organization (supervisor POS) to the formation of high‐quality LMX relationships with their subordinates (first link), who interpret high‐quality LMX as support from the organization (subordinate POS, second link) and, ultimately, repay the organization with increased dedication and effort (examined here in terms of reduced withdrawal behavior). The relationship between supervisor POS and LMX with subordinates was strongly moderated by supervisor fear of exploitation in exchange relationships (reciprocation wariness), holding only for supervisors with low reciprocation wariness. Consistent with the view that employees perceive the organization as partly responsible for treatment received from supervisors, LMX was found to be more strongly related to POS when employees highly identified their supervisors with the organization (supervisor's organizational embodiment), and this interaction extended to reduced withdrawal behavior. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gender and career success: A typology and analysis of dual paradigms

Despite women's advancements in the workplace, gender inequality persists. We classify and test two frameworks used to explain gender differences in career success: unequal attributes and unequal effects. The unequal attributes framework suggests that gender is related to other attributes, which result in unequal career outcomes for men and women (i.e., a mediated effect). The unequal effects framework suggests that even when men and women share the same attribute or circumstances, they are rewarded differently, such that individual attributes have unequal effects on career outcomes for men and women (i.e., a moderated effect). We collected survey data from a gender‐balanced sample of 394 business school alumni. Using structural equation modeling to test the unequal attributes framework, we found that work hours, career orientation, having a nonemployed spouse, and working in a predominantly female job were unequal attributes that explained gender differences in career success. Using multigroup path analysis to examine unequal effects, we found that being agentic, married, having children at home, and working in a predominantly female workplace had unequal effects in relation to career success for men and women. We find support for both models across three categories of career success antecedents (i.e., personal, family, and job attributes).     

The influence of subordinate age on managerial actions: An attributional analysis

The present research examined the effects of employee age on managers attributions and actions toward subordinates. The major prediction was that managers attributions would mediate the effects of age on managerial actions. One-hundred and twenty-four undergraduate management students participated in a laboratory experiment in which subordinate age (30 versus 60 years) and performance (high versus low) were manipulated. A laboratory study was conducted so that subordinate credentials and performance levels could be controlled. Analyses indicated that poor performance by older subordinates was attributed more to stable factors than similar performance by younger subordinates. In addition, job simplification was rated as more appropriate and training was recommended as less appropriate for older subordinates. A series of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the differences in managerial actions were a function of subjects' attributional patterns. Implications of the findings for practice and future research are discussed.     

Language and power: an empirical analysis of linguistic strategies used in superior–subordinate communication

Importing the anthropological, sociolinguistic theory of ‘politeness’ into the domain of organizational studies, this article presents results of a laboratory study that illustrates how power is communicated through specific linguistic gestures differentially used by superiors and subordinates throughout daily interchange. The approach taken illustrates how language is amenable to quantitative, as opposed to sheerly qualitative analysis. Contributions of politeness theory to the study of organizational communication, of influence tactics, the distortion of communication in hierarchical relations, and the presumed egalitarianism associated with programmes of workplace participation, are discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The path(s) to employee trust in direct supervisor in nascent and established relationships: A fuzzy set analysis

While many of the propositions advanced by Mayer, Davis, and Schoorman's (1995) integrative model of interpersonal trust have been supported empirically, we still know little about how time impacts the relative importance of the model's elements. In addition, there may be situations in which trust can develop with lesser degrees of any of the trustworthiness facets or propensity to trust. Hence, we apply a configurational set‐theoretic perspective to examine what combinations will be sufficient to produce the presence of trust in a direct supervisor across nascent and established relationships. We find three distinct configurations associated with trust in supervisor, which allows us to elaborate theory and provide novel insights to trust research. In particular, we find that in both nascent and established relationships, perceptions of high supervisor ability, benevolence, and integrity constitute a sufficient configuration for high trust in supervisor. In established relationships, however, there were two paths to high trust in supervisor: (i) perceptions of high supervisor ability and integrity, or (ii) perceptions of high supervisor ability and benevolence, accompanied by high propensity to trust. As such, in established relationships, perceptions of high supervisor benevolence and high propensity to trust may be substitutable with perceptions of high supervisor integrity. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A closer look at the effects of subordinate–supervisor age differences

Relational demography research has emphasized a similarity–attraction paradigm in explaining employees' reactions to demographic differences from other organizational members. This study examined similarity–attraction (nondirectional age differences) and status incongruence (directional age differences) predictions of age difference effects. The nondirectional and directional differences between the age of a subordinate and the ages of his or her immediate and higher‐level supervisors were used to predict employee absenteeism, citizenship, and work change behaviors. Results revealed that there were more significant and marginally significant directional age difference effects than nondirectional age difference effects on work outcomes. The implications of these results for organizations are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Job satisfaction and teamwork: the role of supervisor support

The link between teamwork and job satisfaction was investigated in a sample of 48 manufacturing companies comprising 4708 employees. Two separate research questions were addressed. First, it was proposed that supervisor support would be a weaker source of job satisfaction in companies with higher levels of teamworking. Multilevel analysis indicated that the extent of teamwork at the company level of analysis moderated the relationship between individual perceptions of supervisor support and job satisfaction. Second, it was proposed that the extent of teamwork would be positively related to perceptions of job autonomy but negatively related to perceptions of supervisor support. Further, it was proposed that the link between teamwork and job autonomy would be explained by job enrichment practices associated with teamwork. Analyses of aggregated company data supported these propositions and provided evidence for a complex mediational path between teamwork and job satisfaction. Implications for implementing teamwork in organizations are discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A failure analysis of fillet joint cracking in an oil storage tank

This paper has studied failure of an oil storage tank. During operation, several cracks were observed at the fillet weldment between reactor shell and annular plates in the bottom of oil storage tank. Extreme stresses in the structure during its operation were determined taking into account shape and geometry imperfections as well as corrosion influence. Both reactor shell and annular plates are made of carbon steel (SM53C). In this study, in order to identify the causes for the fillet weldment cracking, failure analysis such as fractography, tensile test, hardness test, corrosion test(SSRT), chemical analysis was performed. The failure of oil storage tank is the result of the combined and synergistic interaction of mechanical stress and corrosion reactions. Although cracks were initiated by corrosion, failure was generated by propagation of crack caused by stresses concentration. It was recommended that (1) the local stresses be reduced by improved weld toe geometry, and (2) the reinforcement be used in order to avoid failure by stresses concentration.     

Thriving at work: Impact of psychological capital and supervisor support

Thriving at work is a positive psychological state characterized jointly by learning and vitality. Conventional wisdom and some initial research indicate that such thriving benefits both employees themselves and their organizations. This study specifically tests thriving at work by linking it to a theoretically important personal outcome variable (self‐development), refining its relationship with agentic work behaviors (task focus and heedful relating), and proposing and testing two new antecedent variables (psychological capital and supervisor support climate). Using structural equation modeling on a sample of 198 dyads (employees and their supervisors), strong support was found for the theory‐driven hypothesized relationships. The results contribute to a better understanding of positive organizational scholarship and behavior in general and specifically to the recently emerging positive construct of employees' thriving at work. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The politics of leadership: The relationship between task-people leadership and subordinate influence

The purpose of the present research was to investigate the political nature of leadership by examining the association of the task-people leadership approach with strategies used by subordinates to influence their superiors. Forty-eight faculty members (31 males and 17 females) from a school of higher education completed the T-P Leadership Questionnaire and Profile of Organizational Influence Strategies. Reponses were analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlations. The results indicated that as perceived task-centered leadership increased, employees reported a significantly greater use of bargaining, assertiveness, higher authority, and coalition as strategies to influence their superiors. The relationships were observed only during second influence attempts. Further, it was observed that as the perceived level of people-centered leadership behavior rose, subordinates reported a significantly decreased use of bargaining and higher authority as influence strategies during first influence attempts. The findings are discussed in terms of the reciprocal and political character of managerial- subordinate relationships.     

我国的劳动安全监察制度与压力容器事故预防

分析了压力容器事故的主要原因 ,介绍了劳动安全监察制度 ,研究了该制度对减少压力容器事故所起的作用 ,为预防压力容器事故 ,对劳动安全监察制度的发展 ,提出了自己的见解与看法。     

The effects of managerial and employee attributions for corporate social responsibility initiatives

Although corporate social responsibility (CSR) can affect employees, we know little about how it affects them. Employees' interpretation of CSR is important because of the paradoxical nature of CSR. When firms operate in ways that seem counter to their nature (i.e., pursuit of social good rather than profit), the causal attributions of affected employees are crucial to understanding their work‐related behavior, as is the role of contextual factors such as leadership processes in shaping these attributions. Drawing from attribution and social learning theories, we develop a multilevel social influence theory of how CSR affects employees. We integrate managers as second observers in the baseline actor (i.e., firm)—observer (i.e., employee) dyad, whereas most attribution theory research has focused on single actor–observer dyads. Multisource field data collected from 427 employees and 45 managers were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. Managers' genuine (self‐serving) CSR attributions are positively related to employees' genuine (self‐serving) CSR attributions; and the strength of the relationship between managers' and employees' genuine CSR attributions depends on managers' organizational tenure. Employees' genuine CSR attributions also are positively related to employee advocacy, whereas—interestingly—employees' self‐serving CSR attributions do not appear to harm employee advocacy. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

鼓风机叶轮快速断裂的检测及失效分析

针对焦化厂鼓风机叶轮运行近15 d后产生穿透性裂纹、并延伸至叶轮半径2/3处的严重断裂事故,采用具有早期缺陷诊断功能的金属磁记忆新技术及其他多种手段,从宏观力学及微观机理角度对其进行综合性能评定及失效分析.研究结果表明,叶轮材料强度、韧性均过低,且韧性指标分散性大、同类型试样的韧性指标最大值与最小值之间相差3倍多;金相组织晶粒粗大,断口表现为脆性开裂.沿叶轮的断裂与非断裂面分别进行磁记忆扫描,磁场强度分析表明,断裂面内存在两处具有明显应力集中的危险源.分析表明,锻造及锻后热处理不良造成了快速疲劳断裂.最后,结合5年中3次叶轮断裂事故,对失效原因进行了相关性分析.