How Theory X style of management arose from a fundamental attribution error

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Kristl Davison ◽  
Jack Smothers
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Theory Development ◽  
Job Characteristics ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Fundamental Attribution Error ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Job Characteristics Model ◽  
Attribution Error ◽  
Theory X

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose that the Theory X style of management arose from a fundamental attribution error, in which managers assumed that employees’ lack of motivation was a disposition rather than a function of unmotivating work situations. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the nature of work during the industrial revolution from a Job Characteristics Model perspective and compares Theory X and Theory Y perspectives in terms of their emphasis on dispositional or situational influences on behavior. Findings – It was found that factory work performed during the industrial revolution was likely to be deficient in terms of the five core dimensions of the Job Characteristics Model, and would have been unmotivating. Because of the fundamental attribution error, managers would have assumed that workers were unmotivated by nature, but the situation was likely the cause of their lack of motivation. Practical implications – As illustrated by our findings, management theory development and interpretation can benefit from understanding the historical context within which the theory was developed. Considering both situational and person (i.e. individual differences or traits) effects is particularly important for theory development. Originality/value – The unique contribution of this paper is to make the connection between the characteristics of work performed during the industrial revolution and consequent inaccurate managerial attributions of worker motivation (i.e. Theory X).

scholarly journals Visualizing the hotspots and emerging trends of 3D printing through scientometrics

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 801-812 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuran Jin ◽  
Xin Li ◽  
R. Ian Campbell ◽  
Shoufeng Ji
Keyword(s):  
3D Printing ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Theory Development ◽  
Research Direction ◽  
Matrix Composites ◽  
Quality Of Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Emerging Trends ◽  
Third Industrial Revolution ◽  
First Time

Purpose 3D printing is believed to be driving the third industrial revolution. However, a scientometric visualizing of 3D printing research and an exploration its hotspots and emerging trends are lacking. This study aims to promote the theory development of 3D printing, help researchers to determine the research direction and provide a reference for enterprises and government to plan the development of 3D printing industry by a comprehensive understanding of the hotspots and trends of 3D printing. Design/methodology/approach Based on the theory of scientometrics, 2,769 literatures on the 3D printing theme were found in the Web of Science Core Collection’ Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) index between 1995-2016. These were analyzed to explore the research hotspots and emerging trends of 3D printing with the software CiteSpaceIII. Findings Hotspots had appeared first in 1993, grew rapidly from 2005 and peaked in 2013; hotspots in the “medical field” appeared earliest and have remained extremely active; hotspots have evolved from “drug”, “printer”, “rapid prototyping” and “3D printing” in the 1990s, through “laser-induced consolidation”, “scaffolds”, “sintering” and “metal matrix composites” in the 2000s, to the current hotspots of “stereolithography”, “laser additive manufacturing”, “medical images”; “3D bioprinting”, “titanium”, “Cstem cell” and “chemical reaction” were the emerging hotspots in recent years; “Commercial operation” and “fusion with emerging technology such as big data” may create future hotspots. Research limitations/implications It is hard to avoid the possibility of missing important research results on 3D printing. The relevant records could be missing if the query phrases for topic search do not appear in records. Besides, to improve the quality of data, this study selected articles and reviews as the research objects, which may also omit some records. Originality/value First, this is the first paper visualizing the hotspots and emerging trends of 3D printing using scientometric tools. Second, not only “burst reference” and “burst keywords” but also “cluster” and “landmark article” are selected as the evaluation factors to judge the hotspots and trends of a domain comprehensively. Third, overall perspective of hotspots and trends of 3D printing is put forward for the first time.

Job characteristics model (JCM): utility and impact on working professionals in the UAE

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 692-705 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhilasha Singh ◽  
Sanjay Kumar Singh ◽  
Saleena Khan
Keyword(s):  
Job Characteristics ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Characteristic Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Indian Origin ◽  
Job Characteristics Model ◽  
Analysis Of Results ◽  
High Motivation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
High Skill

Purpose This study aimed to see the impact of various dimensions of the job characteristic model (JCM) through the motivating potential scores (MPSs) on professionals residing in the UAE. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 60 professionals, aged from 20 to 45 years were randomly selected from different organizations in UAE. They were administered an online questionnaire to explore their perceptions on job characteristics as per the JCM. Analysis of results was done by factor analysis using SPSS. Findings Results reveal the impact of increasing age on high MPSs, higher MPSs of white-collared jobs than the blue-collared jobs, owing to high skill variety in white-collar jobs. It was also noticed that women scored higher on MPSs than men, and the men of Indian origin showed high motivation as compared to their counterparts from other countries. Research limitations/implications Based on the study conducted, it can be concluded that JCM used for calculating MPS gives an insight into the motivational levels of an employee and the cause for the same. Plotting the scores of JCM characteristics with respect to variables such as age, gender, type of job and country of residence gives a fair idea of motivation and its dependence on these variables. Originality/value The findings of this study have significant implications for developing and sustaining a motivated workforce in the organizations in the UAE. A critical analysis of the data gives many areas where the company can focus to increase the motivation level of its employees.

scholarly journals Designing innovative jobs: a fuzzy-set configurational analysis of job characteristics

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Cangialosi ◽  
Adalgisa Battistelli ◽  
Carlo Odoardi
Keyword(s):  
Fuzzy Set ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Job Characteristics ◽  
Work Behavior ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Innovative Work Behavior ◽  
Configurational Approach ◽  
Job Characteristics Model ◽  
Set Up

PurposeHow to design jobs to support innovation is an issue that has received plenty of consideration over the past years. Building on the job characteristics model, the present study is set up to identify configurations of perceived job characteristics for innovation.Design/methodology/approachBy adopting a fuzzy-set configurational approach (fsQCA), the research question is addressed through a two-wave self-report survey of 199 employees of an Italian manufacturing company.FindingsResults reveal four compatible configurations of job characteristics leading to high levels of innovative work behavior and two for low levels.Practical implicationsThe results offer guidance for managers and organizations that aim to strengthen employee-driven innovation by offering different recipes of job design to maximize the chance of boosting innovative behaviors among their workers.Originality/valueThis research is one of the first to empirically test the relation of job characteristics for innovative behavior using a configurational approach. By doing so it contributes to the literature by advancing the notion that innovative endeavors are determined by the holistic effects of different interdependent configurations of job characteristics.

Exploring the mediating role of work engagement between the linkages of job characteristics with organizational engagement and job satisfaction

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alka Rai ◽  
Sunil Maheshwari
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Work Engagement ◽  
Job Characteristics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Psychological Conditions ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Public Sector Banks ◽  
Organizational Engagement ◽  
Job Characteristics Model

Purpose The purpose of this study is to empirically test a hypothesized model establishing job characteristics as an antecedent of work engagement leading to job satisfaction and organizational engagement of employees working with public sector banks (PSBs) in India. Design/methodology/approach Based on responses to a survey questionnaire by a sample of 622 Scale I employees of Indian PSBs, the hypothesized mediation model was tested with SPSS macro (Preacher and Hayes, 2004). Findings The testing of hypotheses established that job characteristics positively influence work engagement, organizational engagement and job satisfaction. The full mediation by work engagement between the relationships of job characteristics with job satisfaction and organizational engagement is established after the testing of mediation hypotheses. Practical implications Jobs of banks (especially in the public sector) are recommended to be enriched with more emphasis on offering employees with identifiable and significant tasks that have autonomy in decision-making and feedback. PSBs should also focus on developing a positive perception of employees toward job design, to increase their levels of job satisfaction and organizational engagement through engaging them with work. Originality/value The contribution of this study should be understood in many ways. First, the study has introduced work engagement as a mediator in the study model (between job characteristics and job satisfaction) replacing the three psychological conditions (i.e. experienced meaningfulness, experienced responsibility and knowledge of results) of job characteristics model. Further, the main contribution of this study is the exploration of the linkage between work engagement and organizational engagement. The relationship between these two forms of engagement (i.e. work and organization) has been very rarely investigated in the literature. Finally, this study has attempted to hypothesize a model proposing work engagement as a mediator between the job characteristics and organization engagement which does not seem to be studied so far.

Measuring and testing general fundamental attribution error in entrepreneurship effecting public policy

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Fiore ◽  
Robert N. Lussier
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Business Success ◽  
Team Behavior ◽  
Fundamental Attribution Error ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Outcomes ◽  
Attribution Error ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically test for fundamental attribution error (FAE) – the naturally occurring bias of humans to over-attribute business success to celebrity-entrepreneur disposition. Design/methodology/approach – Employing a five-step process, this paper measures and tests for FAE bias in entrepreneurial situations. The methodology includes anecdotal historical evidence; developing a FAE survey instrument; having 101 respondents classify variables; statistically testing and validating the instrument; and then statistically identifying the importance of each factor with a sample 105. Findings – Significant statistical evidence for an active FAE bias was found. People do tend to attribute business success to entrepreneurial dispositions, rather than team behavior and circumstantial outcome factors which can reduce the effectiveness of public policy. Research limitations/implications – There is minimal research on FAE in entrepreneurship effecting public policy, thus there is a need for research to better understand factors of business outcomes actually based on entrepreneurial dispositions vs team behavior and circumstantial-situational factors. Practical implications – FAE bias may lead the general public, entrepreneurs, and public policy makers to overemphasize the impact of the entrepreneur’s behavior and especially the dispositional factors of the celebrity-based entrepreneur when assessing causation of firm performance. This would under-emphasize the value of other organizational factors. Misidentification of true cause-effect factors may lead to inappropriate managerial conclusions and introduction of error in public policy decisions. Originality/value – Although FAE is primarily a psychological literature concept, this is the first study to contribute empirical evidence of the FAE of professionals employed in business as it applies to entrepreneurship and economic outcomes.

Control charts: Minimizing fundamental attribution error in appraisal decisions

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas H. Stone ◽  
I. M. Jawahar ◽  
Ken Eastman ◽  
Gabi Eissa
Keyword(s):  
Control Charts ◽  
Fundamental Attribution Error ◽  
Attribution Error

Sustainable supply chain management: continuing evolution and future directions

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 122-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig R. Carter ◽  
Marc R. Hatton ◽  
Chao Wu ◽  
Xiangjing Chen
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Theory Development ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sustainable Supply Chain ◽  
Unit Of Analysis ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Empirical Validity ◽  
Sustainable Supply Chain Management

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to update the work of Carter and Easton (2011), by conducting a systematic review of the sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) literature in the primary logistics and supply chain management journals, during the 2010–2018 timeframe. Design/methodology/approach The authors use a systematic literature review (SLR) methodology which follows the methodology employed by Carter and Easton (2011). An evaluation of this methodology, using the Modified AMSTAR criteria, demonstrates a high level of empirical validity. Findings The field of SSCM continues to evolve with changes in substantive focus, theoretical lenses, unit of analysis, methodology and type of analysis. However, there are still abundant future research opportunities, including investigating under-researched topics such as diversity and human rights/working conditions, employing the group as the unit of analysis and better addressing empirical validity and social desirability bias. Research limitations/implications The findings result in prescriptions and a broad agenda to guide future research in the SSCM arena. The final section of the paper provides additional avenues for future research surrounding theory development and decision making. Originality/value This SLR provides a rigorous, methodologically valid review of the continuing evolution of empirical SSCM research over a 28-year time period.

Wrapping Blocks: A Fun Way to Teach Job Design

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-162
Author(s):  
Regina Yanson ◽  
Melissa J. Mann
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Human Resource Management ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Job Characteristics ◽  
Job Design ◽  
Graduate Level ◽  
Experiential Teaching ◽  
The Core ◽  
Job Characteristics Model ◽  
Core Elements

This article provides an overview of job design and offers an experiential teaching exercise to help students develop a better comprehension of job design and redesign, as well as learn the importance and challenges of such undertakings. Understanding the core elements of job design is especially important because job design serves as the foundational block for a deeper understanding and application of other organizational phenomenon such as the job characteristics model. This exercise is intended for the introductory undergraduate and graduate-level human resource management course as well as any courses covering “staffing.” Additionally, this activity may be used in the undergraduate Principles of Management or associated introductory management class.

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