Edward E. Lawler’s research while affiliated with Yale University and other places

Job characteristics and three job pressures were examined in 22 research and development laboratories as possible correlates of organizational effectiveness and the need satisfactions and job involvement of researchers in the laboratories. Job challenge and responsibility for dealing with customers were related to quality pressure and to financial responsibility pressure. Job challenge was also related to need satisfaction. Quality pressure, a professional concern, and financial responsibility pressure, an organizational concern, were both related to organizational performance. Quality pressure was also related to job involvement, so that this pressure was functional for both the individual and the organization. Financial responsibility pressure was seen as the professional's adaptation to organizational values.

The causal basis for the relationship between expectancy attitudes and job performance was tested by the use of 2 correlational approaches to determining causality. Data were gathered from 55 managers on the probability that certain rewards could be obtained as a result of their job performance. Self-, superior-, and peer-ratings of job performance were obtained for each S. Similar attitude and performance data were collected at 2 points in time separated by about 1 yr. A cross-lagged correlational analysis of the data generally supported the view that the expectancy attitudes could be best thought of as causing the job performance. A dynamic correlational analysis of the data failed to show strong positive results. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

CONSIDERS THE ADVANTAGES OF USING THE MULTITRAIT-MULTIRATER APPROACH TO MEASURING MANAGERIAL JOB PERFORMANCE. WITH THIS APPROACH THE CONVERGENT AND DISCRIMINANT VALIDITY OF RATINGS CAN BE DETERMINED, MORE INFORMATION CAG BE OBTAINED ABOUT THE MEANING OF THE RATINGS THAN COULD BE IF A SINGLE-RATER OR -TRAIT APPROACH WERE USED. MULTITRAIT-MULTIRATER DATA GATHERED FROM A SAMPLE OF MANAGERS ARE ANALYZED, AND THE CONVERGENT AND DISCRIMINANT VALIDITY OF THE RATINGS IS DETERMINED. ENCOURAGING LEVELS OF CONVERGENT AND DISCRIMINANT VALIDITY ARE OBTAINED INDICATING THAT RATINGS POTENTIALLY CAN BE VALID MEASURES OF MANAGERIAL JOB PERFORMANCE. SEVERAL OFF-QUADRANT ANALYSES ARE ALSO PERFORMED THAT INDICATE LOOKING AT THE DISAGREEMENT AMONG RATERS CAN LEAD TO FURTHER UNDERSTANDING OF THE RATING PROCESS. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THIS APPROACH HAS ADVANTAGES FOR ESTABLISHING CRITERIA FOR RESEARCH OR PERSONNEL DECISION-MAKING PURPOSES.

A theoretical model is presented that specifies the kinds of attitudes that are assumed to lead to effective managerial performance. The basic components of the model are attitudes toward the values of rewards, attitudes toward the perceived probability that rewards depend upon effort, role perceptions, abilities, and job behavior. Data from a study of 154 managers are also presented in order to test part of the model. There was a positive relationship between the degree to which effective job behavior is seen as leading to rewards, and measures of job performance. More importantly, this relationship was increased by taking into account the relative importance of the rewards. Further, the data indicate that managers' role perceptions were related to their rated job performance effectiveness.

Investigated, by questionnaire, the perceptions of 563 managers toward how their pay is determined and their attitudes toward how it should be determined. The results show that in general the managers' perceptions of how their pay was determined reflected the way in which it was determined. However, the way their pay was determined did not appear to influence strongly their attitudes toward how it should be determined, although there was general agreement that merit should be the most important determinant. However, attitudes toward what factors should be important in determining pay were shown to be related to the managers' perception of their relative standing on the various factors. There was a positive correlation between how well the managers felt they compared with other managers on each factor and how important they felt the factor should be. The data also showed that there was a tendency for lack of congruence between a manager's attitudes toward how his pay should be determined and how it is determined to be associated with high dissatisfaction with pay.

This article reviews the results of empirical field studies that have investigated the relationships between properties of organization structure and job attitudes and job behavior in business and industrial organizations. The following 7 structural properties were examined: organizational levels, line/staff hierarchies, span of control, subunit size, total-organization size, tall/flat shape, and centralized/decentralized shape. At least 5 of these 7 variables (with the possible exceptions being span of control and centralized/decentralized shape) were found to be significantly related to one or more attitude or behavioral variables. Implications of these findings for organization theory and future research are discussed. (3 p. ref.)