Understanding the Relationship between Situational Strength and Burnout: A Multi-Sample Analysis

Many studies have examined the effect of situational strength (clarity, consistency, constraints, and consequences) on organisational behaviour, but little has been investigated about its health effects. This study aimed to analyse the relationship between situational strength and burnout. Specifically, we examined whether situational strength characteristics may be associated with burnout, whether these characteristics are risk (or protective) factors for burnout, and whether a strong situation is related to higher levels of burnout. Examining three samples from different occupations, it was found that clarity and consistency are negatively associated with burnout, being protective factors, while constraints are positively associated with burnout, being risk factors. These results are consistent across the samples. In addition to the direct effects, interaction effects between clarity and consistency in the office employee’s sample (two-way interaction), between constraints and consequences in the samples of office employees and teachers (two-way interaction), and among clarity, consistency, and constraints in the salespeople’s sample (three-way interaction) were also significant, explaining from 20% to 33% of the variance of burnout. We concluded that situational strength is associated not only with behaviour but also with health. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Conditions

No team works in a vacuum. Some conditions may encourage collaboration, while others can act as constraints or inhibitors. This chapter examines “conditions,” the context or environment in which a team operates. Some conditions exhibit strong situational strength that greatly influence expected behaviors; others offer only hints or nudges about collaboration. Tangible elements such as organizational policies and practices (e.g., that guide compensation and promotion decisions), resources (e.g., are enough people assigned to the team, does the team have the information it needs), and less tangible elements such as senior leader support and organizational culture are all relevant for promoting teamwork. This chapter highlights six organizational practices and three senior leadership behaviors that can influence many teams, as well as four local team-specific conditions (i.e., resource availability, time availability, authority levels, and mission). The implications of working in a broader cultural context is also considered, as behavioral norms vary around the world.

Influence of Organisational Culture on Supply Chain Resilience: A Power and Situational Strength Conceptual Perspective

The purpose of this paper is to explore how organisational culture, represented by the competing values framework (CVF), and the relationship mechanisms of situational strength and power influence an organisation’s approach to supply chain resilience (SCRES). This is a conceptual paper which uses a multi-theoretical approach to create a framework outlining how organisations which possess different characteristics of culture within the CVF will work to achieve SCRES. Secondary analysis of four case examples as discussed in the supply chain and resilience literature are then used to support the development of propositions from this framework in more detail. The paper suggests that ‘flexibility focused’ cultures will create weaker situational strengths for supply chain partners when managing disruptions, while ‘stability focused’ cultures will create stronger situational strengths in the same scenarios. ‘Internally focused’ cultures may use coercive power with supply chain partners when managing disruptions, while ‘externally focused’ cultures will prefer non-coercive power in the same scenarios. The four case studies from the literature highlight that each type of culture within the CVF can enable an organisation to achieve SCRES. The practical implications of the findings are that managers should take into consideration how their organisation’s culture will influence their relationships with supply chain partners, depending on their application of power and situational strength. However, future research is required to empirically test the propositions.

Context Matters

Contexts shape the way the performance appraisal (PA) and performance management (PM) systems are designed and utilized. Yet, the analysis of situations, especially more macro-context, including cultural, economic, and political/legal values, is one of the most underresearched areas in applied psychology despite the fact that context is likely to be critical to understanding the success and the failures associated with individual and team PM in organizations. To date, most research on situations has focused on proximal factors that impinge directly on raters’ and ratees’ motivation and goals, with less attention given to variations in macro and meso context across and within organizations, nations, and cultures. In the present chapter, the current research linking context with PA and PM is reviewed. Drawing from both situational strength and institutional theories, the mechanisms (e.g., norms and constraints) by which situations can shape the design and process of PA/PM within and across organizations are discussed. The chapter concludes by translating key features from the context and situation assessment literature into action that can be taken by industrial and organizational psychologists to help improve PA/PM research and practice in organizations.