Employee focus of attention and reactions to organizational change
Article Abstract:
This article examines the role of employee focus of attention - and the target of this focus - on employee reactions to organizational change efforts. The authors conducted an empirical study of 476 clerical workers in three regional offices of a large insurance company. Subjects were assigned either to an experimental group - which underwent job changes - or a control group, and completed a survey before and after the change effort. The authors had hypothesized that employees focusing highly on their jobs would react relatively favorably to the job changes, that those focusing highly on their work units would react relatively little, and that those focusing little on off-the-job factors would react strongly. The results provided only mixed support for the first two hypotheses and did not support the third, but indicated that focus of attention indeed moderates the effectiveness of job change interventions for both "soft" dependent variables (e.g., satisfaction) and "hard" ones (e.g., performance). The authors conclude that organizational change efforts may have strong effects when employees focus on targets of change. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)
Publication Name: Journal of Applied Behavioral Science
Subject: Social sciences
ISSN: 0021-8863
Year: 1987
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Fatigue of the spirit in organizational theory and organization development: reconnaissance man as remedy
Article Abstract:
The charge that the OD division of the Academy of Management is a group from which 'the zest is gone' is explored in an address to this division. Several images are presented regarding ways of observing and learning. OD professionals are advised to perform reconnaissance, which is defined as lowering one's defenses, seeing fully, looking again at things one considers already understood, capturing previously undetected nuances, and developing high-variety languages to describe what is discovered. Reconnaissance should also be applied to the values, beliefs and practices of OD to determine their validity. OD practitioners are encouraged to study and disseminate the findings of theorists, to act incrementally at times, and to identify problems and issues that are not appropriately addressed by those working in OD. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)
Publication Name: Journal of Applied Behavioral Science
Subject: Social sciences
ISSN: 0021-8863
Year: 1990
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A concluding note: future directions of sociotechnical theory and research
Article Abstract:
A review of research in the area of sociotechnical systems (STS) theory and applications offers insight into the growth and development of STS, considering earlier STS applications to pre-automated production operations. Just as STS applications are evolving to meet the requirements of automated production systems. The trends in STS research are also leaning toward service organizations (such as health care and transorganizational systems), due to the creation of larger STS innovation contexts, and the identification of success conditions. The field is predicted to remain eclectic, and determined by field work.
Publication Name: Journal of Applied Behavioral Science
Subject: Social sciences
ISSN: 0021-8863
Year: 1986
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