Interactive effects of personality and organizational politics on contextual performance

The authors explored the process of evaluating contextual performance in the context of a politically charged atmosphere. They hypothesized that the negative relationship between perceptions of organizational politics and contextual performance is weaker among workers high in three of the Big Five model of personality dimensions—agreeableness, extraversion, and conscientiousness. Data were collected from a matched sample of 540 supervisors and subordinates employed in the private sector. Results indicated that the interaction of politics and the personality dimension of agreeableness explained a significant incremental amount of variance in the interpersonal facilitation facet of contextual performance. These findings demonstrate the need to consider both the situation and the person as antecedents of contextual performance. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of a large‐scale traumatic event on individual and organizational outcomes: exploring employee and company reactions to September 11, 2001

Much of the literature on stress and organizational outcomes has focused on organizational factors and has ignored extraorganizational stressors that lead to perceived stress. However, research in other fields and recent studies in management suggests that acute‐extraorganizational stressors, such as traumatic events, may have potentially negative and costly implications for organizations. This study tests a theoretical model of traumatic stress and considers the relationship between strain from an acute‐extraorganizational stressor, the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, and absenteeism. Using a sample of 108 MBA and MPA students, this study suggests that strain caused by an acute‐extraorganizational stressor can have important consequences for organizations. Namely, employees who report more strain from a traumatic life event are more likely to be absent from work in the weeks following the event. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exploring the role of hope in job performance: results from four studies

According to Snyder's hope theory, high hope individuals possess more goal‐related strategies and are more motivated to achieve their goals than their low hope counterparts. Therefore, we examined the relationship between hope and job performance using three different samples of employees of different job levels and industries. We found that more hopeful sales employees, mortgage brokers, and management executives had higher job performance, as measured a year later, even after controlling for their self‐efficacy and cognitive ability. In a fourth study, we examined if more hopeful employees attempt to solve problems differently than do those with less hope. Higher hope management executives produced more and better quality solutions to a work‐related problem, suggesting that hopefulness may help employees when they are confronted with problems and encounter obstacles at work. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Feedback acceptance in developmental assessment centers: the role of feedback message,participant personality,and affective response to the feedback session

We investigated feedback acceptance by participants (N = 141) in an operational developmental assessment center (AC). Consistent with predictions based on self‐enhancement theory and the Affective Infusion Model, results indicated that higher assessor ratings were associated with higher feedback acceptance, and this relationship was partially mediated by the participant's affective reaction to the feedback session. Participants' self‐ratings of their AC performance did not affect this relationship suggesting no support for our prediction based on self‐verification theory. We also investigated the role of participants' self‐ratings of agreeableness, extraversion, and emotional stability in feedback acceptance by testing specific moderated mediation hypotheses. Extraversion was related to feedback acceptance through the affective reaction to the feedback session. Agreeableness moderated the affective reaction to the feedback session and feedback acceptance relationship such that there was a strong relationship between affective reaction and feedback acceptance for highly agreeable participants, but no relationship for low agreeable individuals. For low agreeable individuals, there was a positive direct relationship between the assessor ratings and feedback acceptance which was not observed for highly agreeable individuals. The hypothesized role of emotional stability in predicting feedback acceptance was not supported. Implications for the delivery of feedback in developmental ACs are discussed in light of these findings. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coal-Mine Hollow Fill and Settling Pond Influences on Headwater Streams in Southern West Virginia, USA

The influences of coal-mine hollow fills and associated settling ponds in three headwater streams were assessed in southern West Virginia, USA. Fill drainage waters had elevated conductivities and metal concentrations, compared to a regional reference. Benthic macroinvertebrate richness was not affected consistently by the hollow fill drainages, relative to a regional reference, although a more tolerant community, lacking in Ephemeroptera taxa at most locations, was evident. Collector-filterer populations were elevated at monitoring stations directly below the settling ponds, indicating that the ponds’ presence influenced macroinvertebrate community structure by means of organic enrichment. Corbicula fluminea growth was enhanced in monitoring locations directly below the settling ponds, also an apparent result of organic enrichment. Results of acute water column toxicity testing with Ceriodaphnia dubia, sediment chronic toxicity testing with Daphnia magna, and in-situ ecotoxicological assessments with C. fluminea demonstrated no mortality or toxic influence at most of the sites tested below the ponds. The settling ponds appear to serve as sinks in collecting some, but not all, trace metals.