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adverse impact: the extent to which an assessment methodology produces different mean scores or success rates for different groups (social, ethnic, gender, religious). This is often expressed by the proportion of a standard deviation by which the minority group’s mean score is different from the mean score of the majority group. Psychometric tests are usually seen as the major source of adverse impact in an assessment process. However, adverse impact has also been demonstrated in other assessment techniques such as the interview and assessment centres.
alienation: the Marxist concept that referred to the ‘separation’ of people from control over many material and social aspects of their lives. Based on the central accumulation of capital, alienation is seen as the basis of degraded conditions of life under capitalism.
appraisal: a central concept in the transactional view of stress. The concept focuses attention on the way someone understands the demands the environment is making of him or her. An individual appraises what is at stake and the resources—physical, intellectual, and emotional—he or she has to deal with the demand. Whilst an intuitively attractive approach to understanding stress, appraisal is a fuzzy construct which in practice has been difficult to define and measure.
assessment centre: a popular assessment technique which comprises a range of assessment methodologies. The defining feature of an assessment centre is some simulation of the task. They are usually demanding events which can last from half a day to three or more days. The simulation of the job gives individuals a degree of insight into what is involved in the role. Assessment centres although widely used are also seen as problematic. They often have very poor construct validities—it is not clear what they are actually measuring and this reduces their ability to predict future job performance accurately.
autogeneration of skills: the suggestion that new skills can be spontaneously generated, in particular industrial sectors, by the progressive and expanding nature of technology. It is particularly applied in the IT and computing occupations where, since their inception, there seems to be no slackening in the process of new specialisms and skills being created.
autonomy: the amount of control an individual has over his or her working life. Autonomy can relate to performance goals (the outputs of a role) and performance methodologies (the way in which goals are achieved). Increased autonomy is normally associated with higher levels of job satisfaction. However, too much autonomy can involve a high level of role ambiguity and role uncertainty which can be potent sources of stress for many individuals.
basic assumption group: the psychodynamic approach to understanding group functioning suggests that, alongside the functional reasons for the group’s existence, group members may also be operating on some basic ‘unconscious’ assumptions about what the group is there for. This approach to understanding group functioning provides a useful reminder of the potential complexity of group processes and group functioning and the limits of simplistic approaches to groups.
behaviour modification: the attempt to change behavioural responses by adjusting the environmental consequences of responses. Behaviour modification is fairly commonplace in therapeutic settings, for example to increase the social interaction of a patient. It is less common in work settings where behavioural responses such as greeting customers are targeted. Its advocates claim it has impressive success rates. Its critics claim it is highly manipulative and undermines human dignity.
behavioural theories of management: an approach that studied the actual minute-by-minute behaviour of managers. It discovered little evidence for the kinds of optimal rational behaviour suggested by conventional theories.
biodata: biodata is based on a simple psychological truism that the best predictor of future performance is past performance. In practice, biodata involves the combination of biographical information, normally statistically weighted so as to produce a score which can be used as a predictor of job-relevant criteria such as tenure, sales, and success in training. The technique tends to be underutilized in the UK but is very popular in the USA with test publishers producing generic biodata questionnaires.
bounded rationality: an influential concept developed by the Chicago School of the 1950s and 1960s. It challenged rationalist perspectives and suggested that the rationality of actual economic and firm behaviour was always partial, or ‘bounded’ by human limitations.
bureaucracy: Weber’s focus on a particular type of organization that he felt was increasingly dominant in modern society. Bureaucracy is the embodiment of formal rationality and processes of subtle control.
bureaucratic personality: Merton’s notion that modern bureaucratic processes produce forms of depersonalization and dehumanization. This is represented in a narrow and one-dimensional kind of individual.
burnout: an extreme emotional state characterized by emotional exhaustion, a diminished sense of personal accomplishment, and cynicism. Originally identified in social workers, the concept is now applied more generally. One problem with burnout research is establishing whether it is a cause or effect of other responses such as job satisfaction and work performance.
change management: the leadership and direction of the process of organizational transformation especially with regard to human aspects and overcoming resistance to change.
charismatic leadership: a term originally found in the New Testament describing one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And rather like religious leaders who are able to excite followers with a vision of the promised land, it is used in the leadership literature to describe those leaders who can make followers feel they are ‘on a mission’. Charisma seems to have its psychological basis in the ability of some individuals, wittingly or unwittingly, to encourage others to project positively onto them. This means they may well be ascribed abilities and qualities which they do not actually possess. In Freudian terms it engenders a psychological confusion about who they are and means we may be encouraged to transfer our feelings about those who took care of us earlier on in our life. Charisma therefore encourages regression such that we become somewhat dependent on charismatic leaders (for example, to make difficult decisions on our behalf). Charisma is therefore better seen as the outcome of a process projection rather than as a trait.
classical conditioning: the learning which results from the association of stimuli with reflex responses. For example, punitive authority figures experienced early on in life may reflexively elicit feelings of anxiety which become ‘conditioned’, creating patterns of emotional responses which carry on into adult life. Classical conditioning is used in clinical settings to help patients ‘unlearn’ anxieties such as phobias. In the workplace it can help individuals understand some emotional responses and the behaviours which these generate. However, as a framework for understanding higher forms of learning it is limited.
classical theory: the first recognized school of organization theory, based on F. W. Taylor’s Scientific Management, and extending to studies of work and administrative systems. Emphasizes a ‘formalist’ approach to organizations.
coalitions: one of the central tactics of power whereby two or more interest groups informally join forces in order to increase their joint power in relation to another group or groups.
collective mobility project: a distinctive claim on professional status that is actively pursued by a particular occupational group over time, and which utilizes a range of strategies embracing the whole occupation.
competency: an underlying characteristic of an individual which is causally related to effective or superior performance. Competency models have become extremely popular. They are seen as providing a common language for organizations to define the requirements of a role and assess individuals against. The notion of competency frameworks has attracted a good deal of criticism. They can represent little more than wish lists. As they are essentially descriptive they have little explanatory value. Some critics have claimed they also represent an insidious way in which modern economies seek to extend control over individuals.
consideration: one of the two factors identified statistically by the Ohio State University researchers. Consideration is a statistical factor which emerges from correlations between questions emphasizing the importance of good relationships with subordinates. Leaders who score highly tend to be supportive, encouraging, and attempt to arbitrate in order to maintain effective relationships.
constructs: a set of dimensions used by individuals to differentiate between people, things, and events. Individuals appear to possess a stable preference for using particular constructs to differentiate between the individuals they are interacting with. Constructs in skill terms therefore provide the ‘action-relevant categories’ that people collect information with.
contingency theory: the next major school of thought after classical theory to focus on the issue of organization structure. Suggested that appropriate structures are ‘contingent’ on a variety of contextual factors, like size, technology, and environment.
coping styles: the concept of coping styles attempts to capture the variety of ways in which individuals try to cope with the demands of the environment. A common distinction is between ‘problem’- and ‘emotion’-focused strategies. There are many competing frameworks for describing and understanding coping styles. One important question is whether they genuinely capture the diversity of the stress experience.
Critical Management Studies: a new school of thought that applies critical theory to organizations. Stresses the divisions within the management body and the insecurities of much management work.
decision-making: not a focus on the optimal definition of individual decisions, but rather a focus on everyday managerial interaction.
decision-making theories: a cluster of theories of organization, from mainly American writers in the 1980s, that each developed a distinctive aspect of why managerial decision-making was only partly rational.
dependency: the view (derived from systems theories) that the possession of organizational power can be explained by the extent to which organizations are dependent on particular groups or individuals to cope with key areas of uncertainty.
depersonalization: the tendency to see ‘outgroup’ members as more similar than they actually are. Depersonalization means that ingroup members tend to treat outgroup members not as unique differentiated individuals but as members of a social group assumed to possess particular characteristics.
deskilling: Braverman’s thesis that skill represents the central asset possessed by workers, and that modern capitalist systems of work design, like Taylorism, degrade or deskill work, as a means of controlling and cheapening it.
diffusion: the process by which management knowledge and ideas are disseminated or spread. It involves mediating groups, such as consultants and gurus, that act as agents of dissemination.
disciplinary power:
Foucault’s notion that, in modern societies, power and control were not some imposed structure, but were dispersed in all social relations. Power is sustained by ‘disciplines’ such as regimes of professional expertise and technologies of surveillance.
dramatization: a necessary sense-making device in organizations. The ‘theatrical’ quality of much organizational life, whereby events are brought together so that coherent messages and meanings can be delivered.
employee involvement: a recent movement of work improvement, dating from the 1990s, which emphasizes a wide range of methods including communications and changes in work culture, as well as work redesign.
empowerment: the process of displacing decisionmaking downwards to the workforce, or lower levels of management, to enable them to use their skills more effectively and flexibly. The emphasis is often on better engagement with customers.
equal value work: work that is deemed to be of the same value (in terms of factors like skill and responsibility) as other though different work, so that different jobs can nevertheless be rewarded equally.
equity theory: this view of motivation focuses on the comparison processes people utilize to assess whether their rewards equate with their inputs. It encourages the consideration of what social comparisons are operating. Equity theory suggests that individuals strive towards equity, where inputs and outputs are deemed to be fair. Equity theory also explores how individuals react to conditions of over- and underpayment.
faces of power: the influential approach, developed by Lukes, that theories of power divide into three major perspectives (or ‘faces’): behavioural, decision-making, and radical theories.
factor analysis: a statistical technique reducing large data sets to the smallest number of ‘factors’ required to ‘explain’ the pattern of relationships in the data. It has fierce advocates and vehement critics. The former see it as neutral and scientific. The latter argue that it generates statistical abstractions, which have little explanatory value and are not necessarily psychologically meaningful.
fashion perspective: the view that changes in management knowledge can be compared with changes in popular taste. In particular, management ideas often display a fashion life cycle of growth and decline.
five-factor model: a popular factor analytically derived model of personality. Five-factor theorists argue that much of the variation we can observe in each other’s personalities can to a large extent be ‘explained’ by using just five factors: extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conformity, and openness to experience. However, critics of this approach argue that it represents a gross oversimplification of the complexities of personality.
flexible firm: a type of organization design in which overall flexibility comes from having a core of high-skill employees (functional flexibility) and a periphery of less secure workers that can be expanded or contracted (numerical flexibility).
flexible specialization: the term coined by Sabel to indicate idealized models of high-skill innovative production. Has been linked with the German industrial system.
Fordism: the dominant method of production for much of the last century. Identified with mass production and assembly-line technology, Fordism is characterized by large-scale semi-skilled workforces, standardized production, and work control via Taylorism.
G: the idea that intelligence is one thing G has been one of the most enduring ideas in psychology. The general ability factor, identified initially with factor analysis, suggests that if someone is good at one kind of test (e.g. verbal reasoning), the chances are that they will be good at any another kind (e.g. spatial reasoning). Critics of G see the emphasis on one general factor as obscuring important differences in our individual ability structures.
gendering process: a perspective that sees gender segregation as continually sustained and negotiated by specific groups of actors (rather than as an imposed structure of discrimination).
general adaptation syndrome: adapting to external stressors seems to involve a set of similar reactions. The discovery of the general adaptation syndrome established stress as a distinct area of research. However, seeing stress as essentially a response is criticized for being too narrow and excluding a number of other important facets of stress such as the impact of an individual’s ‘appraisal’ of a stressor.
goal-setting: the motivational impact of being involved in setting performance goals for the work role an individual occupies. Like knowledge of results, although goal-setting appears to have positive motivational properties it can be organizationally difficult to implement as it involves managers being willing to share some power with subordinates. Often goals are set (such as share price) over which an individual worker in reality has no control.
group technologies: the set of job redesign techniques based around group working, rather than the individual, isolated worker.
groupthink: the distortion of reality testing and suspension of critical thinking which can occur in highly cohesive teams. Groupthink has been used to explain disasters such as Chernobyl and massive errors of political judgement such as the ‘Bay of Pigs’ invasion of Cuba sponsored by the United States.
hierarchy of needs: the suggestion that more or less all of us are motivated by the same set of needs and that, as we mature psychologically and to the extent that our circumstances allow, we all progress up a hierarchy of needs by first fulfilling ‘lower-order’ needs such as physiological and safety needs to the point where our behaviour is increasingly motivated by ‘higher-order’ psychological needs, such as the need to ‘self-actualize’ fulfil our potential as human beings. Though an extremely influential idea and often taught as if it were true, there is actually very little strong empirical evidence for the existence of such a hierarchy.
holism: the view that social phenomena are integrated into single wholes (such as a common culture). Holism opposes the mechanistic view that analyses events by breaking them down into constituent parts. It suggests that the essence of the whole is present in all parts and hence often places importance on mundane events, which are seen as microcosms of the whole.
homogeneity: the extent to which group members share similar characteristics such as similar attitudes, values, and personalities. Homogeneity can enhance the cohesiveness of the group the perception of a shared identity. But too much homogeneity is presumed not to be a good thing for effective team functioning as it may lead to little challenge of a consensus. Homogeneity is the opposite of heterogeneity the extent to which group members differ in their characteristics. Research supports the idea that a moderate degree of heterogeneity supports effective team functioning.
impression management: this assumes that, contrary to static trait-based explanations of human behaviour, social life is much more dynamic and creative. From this perspective individuals are seen as being constantly involved in ‘impression management’ attempting to define themselves and the encounter they are involved in. Individuals are concerned with the effectiveness of their own impression management activities and those they are interacting with. This perspective has been criticized for underestimating the extent to which roles and behaviour in them are predetermined, for example by the distribution of power.
informal careers: careers that exist outside the (formal) career structure of organizations and professions. Typically the sorts of careers that women have, and often occurring in secondary occupations and sectors.
initiating structure: one of the two factors identified by the Ohio State University researchers in their factor analytic study of leadership behaviours. Initiating structure is a statistically arrived at dimension emerging from correlations between responses to questions describing the need to define and complete activities. The Ohio researchers have been criticized for not developing a theoretical account of what their dimensions might reflect in personality or motivational terms.
insidious power: an extension of Weber’s original emphasis on indirect forms of control. Insidious forms of power are not obvious or oppressive. They are based on forms of self-control and unnoticed rules. Compare with Foucault’s notion of ‘disciplinary power’.
institutional perspective: the view that new knowledge is often taken up in organizations under pressure from wider ‘institutional’ forces, such as the state or competitive forces. This produces ‘isomorphism’ whereby many organizations end up adopting the same ideas.
intelligence: many competing definitions exist for one of the most controversial concepts in psychology. The most influential in the assessment of intelligence in workplace settings is ‘the innate ability to perceive relationships and identify co-relationships’. The assumption is that much of the variation in intelligence can be explained by one general ability factor (G).
intelligence quotient (IQ): currently IQ is calculated by estimating where, under the normal distribution curve, someone’s performance on an IQ test places him or her. The curve is standardized such that the mean score is 100 and the standard deviation around the mean is 15. An average IQ is therefore between 85 and 115. The scale will go from 55 to 145 (three standard deviations below and above the mean).
Japanization: the process whereby, in countries outside Japan, local industries adopt Japanese management and production methods, or what are regarded as Japanese methods (cf. ‘the Japanization of British industry’).
job analysis: a process which may involve interviewing, observing, surveying job holders or job experts in order to identify job demands and the underpinning personal attributes required to function effectively in the role. A job analysis, although notionally the starting point of an assessment process, is often neglected, leading to inappropriate materials or methods being used.
job characteristics model: a popular model of motivation and job satisfaction which has stood the test of time. It combines measurement of objective characteristics of work and psychological states in an attempt to explain and predict the ‘motivational potential’ of a job. The model has provided some of the core constructs used in job satisfaction research. However, the model is criticized for not including some important elements of job roles such as the management practices which impact on them.
job enrichment: the provision of genuine and meaningful humanization of work (as opposed to low-level improvements). Based on the introduction of more varied, autonomous, and complete work tasks.
job satisfaction: the feelings or ‘affective response’ someone experiences in a job role. Some researchers argue that it is possible to capture the level of job satisfaction with one question. Others suggest we can have strong negative feelings about one aspect of our job (e.g. pay) but feel positive about other facets of it (e.g. colleagues). In addition, researchers have developed sophisticated models of the key components of our ‘affective response’ to work which map the nature and intensity of feelings. Job satisfaction has been treated as both a cause and effect of other organizational variables such as ‘burnout’ and ‘work performance’.
just-in-time production: the major production system to have succeeded the traditional assembly line. JIT is based on principles of total quality, continuous improvement, and unit batch sizes. Typically linked with Japanese systems of work organization.
knowledge of results: this concept refers to the motivational impact of feedback of the outcomes of performance. Although knowledge of results has a well-established motivational effect, in reality in workplace settings, information is often only provided if performance falls below a threshold. Providing knowledge of results can also run counter to the culture of an organization if, for example, historically information on the performance of contracts was restricted to a small group of senior managers.
knowledge work: new forms of employment that revolve around the dominant role of science and technology in modern economies, and the significance of information technologies. This work is said to be distinctively ‘analytic’ and to involve problem-solving and abstract reasoning. Knowledge work is performed by knowledge workers, seen as an emerging dominant group in economic and political terms.
labour process: Marx’s focus on the dynamics of the employment relationship. In capitalist societies, where labour is bought and sold, this is seen as a site of conflict. There are great pressures for employers to intensify their control, and for workers to resist.
leadership: leadership is evidenced by effective attempts to influence others. Theories of leadership attempt to explain why some individuals are more effective than others at influencing. Theories have focused on differences in behaviour, style, and personal attributes.
leadership style: the characteristic approach to leadership demonstrated by a leader. One influential framework developed by the University of Michigan differentiates between democratic and autocratic leadership styles. Democratic leadership styles reduce the power differential between leaders and subordinates. Democratic leaders are more willing to share power and encourage participation in decision-making. The research evidence suggests that the democratic leadership style is not always the most effective approach to leadership, particularly in environments where quick decision-making is required.
learning: learning can be defined as the cognitive and physical activity giving rise to a relatively permanent change in knowledge, skill, or attitude. A distinction is oftenmade between declarative learning,which increases knowledge of facts, and procedural learning, which improves knowledge of procedures. Most workplace learning involves a mixture of both. Theories of learning attempt to explain how learning occurs in individuals. The importance of learning to modern economies is evidenced in terms such as the ‘learning organization’, ‘knowledge workers’, and ‘lifelong learning’.
learning strategies: while there is not much solid evidence for ‘learning styles’, the idea that there are relatively enduring differences in the way individuals prefer to learn, there is reasonably strong evidence for the idea of learning strategies. These are more fluid differences in the way individuals learn. They divide into cognitive and behavioural strategies. The former essentially involves trying to organize the material mentally, for example by attempting to see connections in the material; the latter involves more practical activities such as getting others to check understanding. Choosing the correct learning strategy seems to have an important effect on the impact of training.
McDonaldization: Ritzer’s thesis that extends Weber’s ideas on bureaucratic rationality. The debasement of social relations that is symbolized in the fast-food restaurant is spreading to all areas of culture and economic life.
male power: the active role that men play in differentiating their work from women. The basis of the gendering process.
managerial rationality: the view that behaviour is controllable and predictable, and that it is directed towards achieving formal organizational goals.
market segmentation: the idea that real labour markets are never ‘perfect’ markets in the sense that all workers compete equally. Labour markets are divided into relatively self-contained segments such as primary and secondary markets, internal and external markets, and men’s versus women’s work.
mission statement: an organization’s description of itself. The declaration of values, goals, and aspirations that authoritative groups agree upon as being the central account of the organization’s unique sense of direction.
motivation: the extent to which an individual is engaged by the work role he or she occupies. Theories of motivation suggest that motivated behaviour occurs either because work fulfils psychological needs or because of more rational decision-making processes where there appears to be a clear connection between effort and performance and performance and value outcomes.
new service work: white-collar work that has emerged from the lengthy process of ‘industrializing’ the office. Often characterized by pervasive use of information technologies, and an emphasis on customer-related skills. The call centre is the classic example.
new technology: a term coined around the mid-1970s to describe technical systems based on information technology and the microprocessor. New technology has a massive and still expanding range of applications in most industrial and commercial operations.
non-verbal communication: the impact of gestures, gaze, expressions, and other symbols capable of substituting for words and conveying information. Social skill involves decoding sources of non-verbal communication, particularly gaze. In assessing the validity of another individual’s impression management activities we are constantly checking for a correspondence between information conveyed by verbal and non-verbal channels of communication.
norm: a rule which governs or constrains the behaviour of group members. Norms in the workplace can relate directly to performance by dictating acceptable levels of quality and quantity. Norms also exist to determine attitudes towards timekeeping, absenteeism, and standards of personal appearance. Norms are powerful determinants of behaviour. They can work to support the interests of senior management or can operate to undermine them.
norming: one framework for understanding the development of groups suggests that one important stage groups go through is the development of norms about the way in which tasks will be tackled and members will relate to one another.
occupational control: an umbrella term that includes all the aspects of an occupation’s market situation, such as influence over status and material rewards, control of entry to the occupation and accreditation, the way the work is performed, routine definitions of good practice, and so on.
operant conditioning: the arrangement of environmental contingencies i.e. what follows a response to strengthen or weaken the connection between a stimulus and a response. This framework for understanding how we learn has been extremely influential from the 1950s onwards. Its impact can be seen nowadays in ‘programmed instruction’, where there is a very tight specification of stimulus and response and a clear connection between responses and reward. It is also visible in the ‘competence revolution’ which specifies job demands in clear behavioural terms. Critics argue that it fails to take any account of the ‘black box’ what is happening in someone’s mind when they are learning.
organizational culture: the set of beliefs, values, and norms, together with symbols like dramatized events and personalities, that represents the unique character of an organization, and provides the context for action in it and by it.
organizational design: the application of principles discovered by theories of organization structure to planning the relations between departments, the grouping of tasks, and the flow of work in organizations. Modern theories that reflect the variety of managerial choice also imply a wide range of different designs.
personal front: one of the main outcomes of our impression management activities is the construction of a ‘personal front’—the attempt to define oneself as a particular kind of individual. In organizations there may be a restricted range of officially sanctioned fronts individuals can operate from behind. A distinction is often made between acquisitive fronts which enhance one’s standing and protective fronts which enable individuals to deal with any perceived deficiencies. The concept ‘persona’ has virtually the same meaning.
personality: defined as the relatively enduring combination of traits which makes an individual unique and at the same time produces consistencies in his or her thought and behaviour. Critics of the concept argue that our behaviour is not sufficiently consistent across situations to infer the existence of stable underlying entities such as traits.
post-Fordism; neo-Fordism: new systems of work that succeed the Fordist system and arise out of the so-called crisis of Fordism. Post-Fordism refers to any succeeding system, while neo-Fordism implies that the new system is not truly innovative but only a refinement or modification of basic Fordist principles.
power resources: the scheme of categories or types of power developed by French and Raven. This suggests there are five distinct bases or resources that organizational power-holders rely on: reward power, coercive power, legitimate power, referent power, and expert power.
professionalism: the process by which given occupations become professions, in the sense of attaining professional status. The emphasis here is on the strategies occupations adopt (e.g. competing with rival professional groups, or developing powerful professional associations) rather than whether they possess the traits or features that correspond with some model of a profession.
psychodynamic theory: psychodynamic theory assumes that much of our behaviour stems from ‘the unconscious’ which houses our basic instinctual needs (essentially sex and aggression). Reconciling the satisfaction of these with the requirements of reality sets up conflicts. The ‘defence mechanisms’ we develop to manage these conflicts become an important part of our behaviour. Critics of this tradition argue that it is essentially unscientific. It utilizes unobservable phenomena and generates hypotheses that are difficult to falsify.
psychometric tests: formed from the Greek words for mental and measurement, psychometric tests attempt to quantify some psychological attribute or attributes of an individual. The technical quality of psychometric tests varies enormously. The standard psychometric technical requirements are reliability and validity. But in addition to whatever technical merits tests possess, test usage has attracted other criticisms. Insensitive test administration, a lack of understanding of the ‘status of the evidence’ (e.g. assuming personality tests provide straightforward insights into personality), and using the wrong tests for a role have all served to undermine the potential value of psychometric tests to individuals and organizations.
rationalization: Weber’s concept of the increasing spread and dominance of hard, market-based criteria in all areas of social and economic life.
reflexivity: the ability of a team to reflect critically on the way it tackles tasks or members relate to one another. This may involve some quite uncomfortable and socially difficult challenges amongst team members. Reflexivity may be encouraged by changes in group membership or interventions by outsiders. One argument is that reflexivity is a basic ingredient for successful complex decision-making groups.
reliability: reliability represents the accuracy of an assessment methodology and is normally expressed as a correlation coefficient ranging from 1 to 0. For example it could represent the extent to which interviewers’ ratings of candidates are correlated. For a psychometric test, it can be estimated by calculating the extent to which questions all seem to be measuring the same thing or by identifying whether the rankings of individuals’ scores in a group remain similar if they are tested on another occasion.
rhetoric: intrinsic persuasiveness contained in particular messages and communications. Particular themes and narratives of fashionable management knowledge can have a powerful rhetorical impact.
roles: the set of external expectations about a role incumbent’s behaviour. These can be explicit as defined in a job description or can be implicit and acquired through observation and internalization. Although roles are essentially seen as external to individuals they can exert a powerful influence on behaviour and may, through internalization, impact on an individual’s attitudes, values, and even personality.
rules: many social psychologists argue that behaviour in social situations is rule governed. Social effectiveness, from this perspective, is determined by the extent to which individuals understand and follow the rules. Most of the rules we follow are so well learned we are no longer conscious of them and only become aware of them when someone breaks them.
self-actualization: the idea of a hierarchy of needs suggests that the desire to fulfil one’s potential is the final cause of motivated behaviour. Few people become self-actualizing according to this view of motivation. Those who do, generally in their fifties, are seen as possessing a similar set of ideals, values, and attitudes. Once motivated by this need, individuals experience a spiralling need for challenge in their work which means they are always seeking to develop their capacities and realize their potential. In practice it has been difficult to define and measure self-actualization with any rigour.
self-stereotyping: the tendency to see members of the ingroup as more similar than they actually are. This leads to ingroup bias—the tendency to treat ingroup members more favourably than outgroup members.
semiconductor: a material that, in terms of its physical properties, is between a conductor and an insulator. The commonest semiconducting material, silicon, was used in the transistor, the world’s first electronic switch, and is still the basis of modern microprocessors and information technology.
sex typing (of jobs): the existence of stereotyped attitudes towards men’s or women’s abilities, so that they are seen as fitted for or unsuited for particular forms of work. The basis of divisions between men’s and women’s work.
situational leadership: this view of leadership emphasizes the interaction between the leadership style of an individual and the features of the environment he or she is operating in. Situational leadership theories differ in whether they view leadership style as relatively fixed or as something which can be fairly readily adjusted by the leader to ‘fit’ the situation. If leadership style is seen as fixed then it follows that leaders are more effective in some environments than others. Increasing effectiveness would mean changing the environment rather than changing leadership style.
situations: many social psychologists argue that it is the features of social situations which have more impact on behaviour than traits. They argue that our behaviour is too variable across situations to infer the existence of the stable underlying entities called traits. For these psychologists situations are to be understood as discrete entities each with its own set of roles, rules, goals, and relevant concepts. This perspective understates the presence of stabilities—individuals behaving similarly across dissimilar situations—and the utility of trait measures as predictors of behaviour.
skills: seen as ‘natural units’ of behaviour, the hallmark of skilled performance is smooth progression towards a goal. Understanding how individuals acquire skills involves more emphasis on the ‘cognitive’ aspects of learning. This focuses attention on the changes occurring in the ‘mental models’ people construct of the environments they are interacting with. For example, the differences between the way skilled and unskilled individuals categorize the information they are having to process can provide important insights into how skill development can be facilitated.
social identity theory: a theory of group formation which stresses the psychological basis of group formation. The need for self-esteem is seen as the basis for our identification with groups and therefore our need to see the groups we belong to as positively distinctive. Social identity theory contrasts with accounts of group formation which stress the functional basis for the existence of groups and intergroup conflict. In the workplace there is normally a mix of both functional and psychological reasons for conflict between groups.
social learning theory: the idea that some forms of social learning are so important they produce changes which are sufficiently enduring to be considered a stable part of our personality is an important one in the psychology of individual differences. Critics would argue that social learning theory tends to underplay the importance of genetic and biological differences.
social skills: a commonplace assumption nowadays, but the idea that social interaction and social life more generally could be viewed as involving a set of skills which were similar to workplace skills was initially controversial. Like all skills, the hallmark of social skill is smooth progression toward a goal. As with other workplace skills they have a cognitive and behavioural component. These involve constructing effective ‘models’ of the environment (essentially other people) and developing sets of behavioural routines. Courses enhancing social skills (communicating, listening, self-assertion, negotiation, and counselling) are now central features of workplace development.
socio-technical systems: an approach to work redesign advanced by the Tavistock Institute for Human Relations. Based on seeing work as a system of social relations between workers, as well as a technical system of formal design.
stories: a particularly coherent aspect of organizational symbolism. Stories dramatize specific organizational events; they assemble a cast of characters and a plot, and frequently have a functional purpose, such as controlling uncertainty, or enabling complex decisions to be taken.
strain: the outcome of an inability to deal effectively with stressors. Strain is therefore evident in a range of physical and psychological signs and symptoms. The physical evidence of strain is thought to include hypertension, gastric disorders, coronary heart disease, skin disorders, and a range of psychosomatic illnesses. Psychologically strain can result in depression, sleep loss, suspiciousness, and ‘burnout’.
strategic choice: or managerial choice. The view that, because of the power that organizations dispose of, in practice managers are often not constrained by contextual factors (like technology or environment) but exercise great discretion. Strategic choice is an implied criticism of contingency theory.
stress: the result of an interaction between the environment and an individual whereby the individual appraises the demands of the situation and does not have the resources—physical or intellectual—to deal effectively with these demands.
stress management: interventions designed to reduce the impact of stressors in the workplace. These can have an individual focus, aimed at increasing an individual’s ability to cope with stressors. Stress-management programmes can also have an organizational focus and attempt to remove the stressors in a role. For example, improving communication may reduce uncertainty. Programmes with an organizational focus are relatively rare.
stressor: an external demand the environment makes on the individual. Stressors in the workplace can include those embedded in our social relationships: a bullying supervisor, for example. They can also be present in the roles we occupy or because of factors such as noise, dust, or heat in the physical settings we work in.
subjectivity (in the labour process): an approach that focuses on the active strategies that all organizational members develop in their work, and through which they construct aspects of social identity. Often connected with ‘positive resistance’ or workers resisting in support of the broader interests of being effective in their jobs.
system: a perspective that views organizations (or any social body) as consisting of an interdependent group of units (or subsystems) that pursues some goal or purpose, and exists within an environment with which it interacts.
system of professions: the set of relationships between clusters of professional groups that often resolves itself into rivalry and conflict, as groups compete for ‘jurisdiction’ or control over a specified area of work.
tacit versus explicit knowledge: the two basic knowledge types. Knowledge, on the one hand, can be informal, intangible, and experience based; or, on the other hand, it can be formalized and codified.
Taylorism: the regime of work control developed by F. W. Taylor. Taylorism, or Scientific Management, was the first major industrial system to systematically rationalize and control the work process, by separating skills from the shop floor and fragmenting jobs.
team roles: one extremely influential view of work teams is that individuals try to carve out for themselves distinctive team roles such as the ‘plant’—the ideas person. The basic idea is that the effectiveness of a team is determined by the spread of roles it has available. Although not particularly well supported academically, the notion of team roles has nonetheless become extremely popular and thus a common framework for people in the workplace to understand the way in which teams function.
technological determinism: the view that the effects of any new technology on work and employment are simply defined (i.e. determined in a fixed way) by the inherent capabilities and functions of the technology itself. This is invariably criticized for ignoring factors in the context of work and the role of human agents.
total institution: a concept developed by Erving Goffman to indicate an organization that completely confines and encompasses the lives of inmates, ordering all daily routines, and thereby forcibly changing behaviour and self.
Toyotaism: the system of production identified with the Japanese auto giant Toyota, and especially with its plant in Toyota City. Essentially identical with JIT, but the focus on a single manufacturer is intended to stress that the kind of integrated production and supply chain that is the JIT ideal in fact occurs in very few places.
training: training involves an organized attempt to assist learning through instruction, observation, or practice. Training goals normally reflect the demands of a job role although ‘management development’ tends to have somewhat less specific goals. There is a great deal of research interest in what affects the extent to which training transfers into workplace behaviour. The impact of training on the success of an economy is an issue much disputed by economists. But the success of economies which invest heavily in training suggests there is some link between the level of training and the success of an economy.
transactional leadership style: this leadership style emphasizes the ‘bread and butter’ aspects of leadership: planning, organizing, coordinating, and timetabling. The leader enters into a transaction with subordinates: compliance is exchanged for reward. This leadership style is differentiated from the transformational leadership style which is supposed to involve the alignment of subordinates around a vision. However, in organizations both styles of leadership are important. The distinction may also be more apparent than real (see transformational leadership).
transformational leadership: this view of leadership tries to restore the idea of leaders possessing special gifts and abilities. The transformational leader is the leader who is able to energize, align, and excite followers by providing a compelling vision of the future. Some have argued the identification of the transformational leadership style is the result of research methodology, which encourages people to fantasize about socially distant leaders.
two-factor theory: the idea that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction are caused by two separate sets of factors. Job satisfaction is essentially the result of ‘motivators’ (satisfying higher-order psychological needs such as that for self-actualization). Job dissatisfaction is caused by the absence of ‘hygiene factors’ such as pay and working conditions which reflect the need to avoid pain. Whilst an extremely influential theory, many doubts have been raised about the independence of these factors and the original research methodology.
type-A and type-B personalities: one contributor to coronary heart disease (CHD) is thought to be the presence of a stress-prone personality—the type A. This represents a cluster of traits which give rise to a hard-driving, work-involved, competitive style and a strong sense of urgency. Type Bs in contrast do not have the same sense of urgency or competitiveness. Although the general link between type As and CHD appears well established the precise mechanisms causing the elevated risks are unclear.
validity: validity represents the relevance of an assessment methodology. Although the concept is normally encountered in the context of psychometric tests it can be applied to evaluate any assessment methodology. There are a number of quite different facets to the notion of validity, ranging from the acceptability of a process to individuals (face validity) through to the ability of the method to predict outcomes (criterion validity).
VIE theory: whilst some theories of motivation assume the existence of psychological ‘needs’ which motivate behaviour, VIE theory stresses the more rational cognitive processes involved. This focuses attention on the extent to which individuals can perceive means–end connections between their efforts and valued rewards. Doubts have been raised about the extent to which individuals do undertake the complex calculations involved in projecting their behaviour into the future.
workers’ resistance: the process of struggle against the control imposed by the labour process. The importance of considering ‘resistance’ lay in the fact that Braverman’s influential theory appears to ignore it.
work orientation: represents a kind of ‘super attitude’ towards work that constitutes a broad disposition towards certain kinds of employment. The most researched is the instrumental orientation. Work orientations are regarded as ‘externally’ generated from employees’ background, rather than from their experiences within work.
work segregation: distortions in the distribution of jobs whereby men or women tend to be pushed into certain kinds of occupations, so that these become highly feminized or masculinized.