THE EFFECTS OF PERSONALITY ORIENTATION AND EXECUTIVE BEHAVIOR ON SUBORDINATE PERCEPTIONS OF WORKGROUP ENABLEMENT

Advancing the State of the Art of 360-Degree Feedback

360-degree feedback and/or multirater or multisource assessment methods have become one of the most popular and yet least understood management and organizational interventions in recent years. The editors of this special issue devoted to the subject provide (a) an introduction to the current usage and efficacy of these feedback systems in organizational settings, (b) a brief overview of the major themes and issues raised in the 6 articles included in the volume, and (c) a set of general comments and reflections about the state of research and practice on multirater assessment methodologies, with directions for future research.

Ten Difference Score Myths

Difference scores have been widely used in studies of fit, similarity, and agreement. Despite their widespread use, difference scores suffer from numerous methodological problems. These problems can be mitigated or avoided with polynomial regression analysis, and this method has become increasingly prevalent during the past decade. Unfortunately, a number of potentially damaging myths have begun to spread regarding the drawbacks of difference scores and the advantages of polynomial regression. If these myths go unchecked, difference scores and the problems they create are likely to persist in studies of fit, similarity, and agreement. This article reviews 10 difference score myths and attempts to dispel these myths, focusing on studies conducted since polynomial regression was formally introduced as an alternative to difference scores.

Employee empowerment: factors affecting the consequent success or failure (Part II)

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to uncover and synthesise the main factors that affects and determines the success or failure of empowerment initiatives from a macro and micro perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

– A thorough review of scholarly articles and empirical evidence was conducted on the topic of empowerment in order to bring to light the correlation between the different factors affecting structural empowerment, psychological empowerment and the effect of leadership style.

Findings

– It has been determined that a team based structure and a culture based on trust and open communication are the key factors affecting the successful implementation of empowerment. Furthermore, although, many positive points can be made for transformational leadership, transactional leadership cannot be discounted as the research shows that the right combination of incentives and rewards, coupled with a certain organisational culture can breed empowerment among certain types of employees.

Research limitations/implications

– Going forward in terms of research on the increasingly popular concept of empowerment, it is believed that a more fully integrated model should be developed. Although some models do incorporate analysis of various macro and micro variables a more comprehensive and encompassing model would prove useful. Such a model would allow for a far more in-depth understanding of empowerment and its defining factors and would provide an invaluable tool to organisations wishing to implement empowerment in the most optimal way.

Practical implications

– In applying a combination of theories on empowerment, leadership and individuals as part of an organisation, the authors posit that empowerment initiatives are predisposed to either success or failure. In order for empowerment to permeate the corporate culture and prove successful, the predispositions of decentralised management and personal ambition are strong factors of success.

Social implications

– The authors postulate that the deciding factors regarding the success or failure of empowering an employee originate from the employees themselves. Even though employees can adopt new corporate cultures and be transformed by their leaders, their core traits remain the same and will have a decisive impact on the eventual success or failure of empowerment initiatives.

Originality/value

– Going forward in terms of research on the increasingly popular concept of empowerment, it is believed that a more fully integrated model should be developed. Although some models do incorporate analysis of various macro and micro variables, a more comprehensive and encompassing model would prove useful.