An Investigation of An Organization Accommodating Managerial Changes

Adams, Edward Francis

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/66579 Copy

Description

Title

An Investigation of An Organization Accommodating Managerial Changes

Author(s)

Adams, Edward Francis

Issue Date

1980

Department of Study

Psychology

Discipline

Psychology

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

Psychology, Industrial

Language

eng

Abstract

• The policy of promoting managers from within an organization serves multiple organizational functions. It rewards individuals for superior performance, maintains and develops qualified managers, and staffs positions with experienced company personnel. Promoting from within organizations often assumes that employees can adjust to new surroundings, accommodate new job demands, and perform as effectively in previous assignments. Unfortunately these assumptions are unsupported by research. Several studies have indicated that managerial changes are sometimes disruptive and can produce conflict and dissatisfaction among staff and subordinates. This study investigated managerial changes in a national retail organization over a four month period to examine whether interpersonal, attitudinal, and perceptual differences might be related to managerial changes.
• Observations were collected via questionnaires from six superiors, ten managers, and 65 subordinates one month after managerial changes (Time 1) and three months later (Time 2). Of the ten managers, six had been in their positions one month (experimental managers) and four cohort managers with similar job responsibilities had been in their positions 23 months (comparison mangers). Measures from superiors were collected on five managerial behaviors (job knowledge, communicating work policies, employee support, set reasonable goals, and demonstrate consistent behavior) and two performance ratings (manager present and future expected performance). Managers reported information on their manager-superior relationships (leader-member relations), manager-subordinate relationships (subordinate satisfaction), job problems, and job tension. Subordinates completed instruments measuring leadership perceptions (negotiating latitude, leader-member relations, initiating structure, and consideration), job satisfaction (satisfaction with supervision, promotion, and career and future security), the five managerial behaviors, and two performance ratings.
• Effects for managers were weak for interpersonal relationships, attitudes, and perceptions in this management sample. Subordinates of experimental managers reported lower job knowledge and present performance ratings of their managers than did subordinates of comparison managers at Time 1. Experimental managers showed more variability in their perceptions of their manager-superior and manager-subordinate relationships than did comparison managers at Time 1.
• Major differences were found between Time and 1 and 2. responses. Responses at Time 2 were generally more favorable than at Time 1. Both negotiating latitude and leader-member relations were found to be accurate predictors of high and low subordinate responses within time periods yet somewhat weaker across time intervals. Comparisons were made between the two measures resulting in several distinguishing characteristics. Comparisons were made between initiating structure and consideration within and across time periods to examine the effects of either behavior for subordinates of experimental managers. Initiating structure was more predictive of Time 1 responses while consideration behavior showed stronger relationships at Time 2.
• Results are discussed in terms of the methodological issues of performing longitudinal research, manager assimilation into new positions, and future research models to investigate assimilation processes. Generally, longitudinal investigations are needed to examine the managerial assimilation process into new positions and organizations to ascertain how this process compares with employee assimilation processes of non-managers and students into the labor market. Managers in this organization seemingly accommodated managerial changes probably because of the nature of their responsibilities, the managerial role in general, and because the organization is large and personnel are more accustomed to managerial changes.

Graduation Semester

1980

Type of Resource

text

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/66579

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