Question 1:
The psychological contract is central to the employer employee relationship and breaches of the psychological contract can have a negative impact on both employee and organisational performance. Critically evaluate.
Coyle-Shapiro, J. A., Costa, S. P., Doden, W. and Chang, C. (2019) `Psychological Contracts: Past, Present, and Future`. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology, 6, pp. 145–69.
Parzefall, M. R. and Coyle‐Shapiro, J. A. (2011) `Making Sense of Psychological Contract Breach`. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 26(1), pp. 12-27.
Rousseau, D. M. (2004) `Psychological Contracts in the Workplace: Understanding the Ties That Motivate`. Academy of Management Executive, 18(1), pp. 120-127.
Question 2:
Critically explore the antecedents of work life conflict and or facilitation, drawing upon Humbert and Lewis (2008) and McMillan, Morris and Atchley (2011) ‘Constructs of the Work/Life Interface: A Synthesis of the Literature and Introduction of the Concept of Work/Life Harmony’.
Humbert, A. L., and Lewis, S. (2008) “I have no life other than work” – Long working hours, blurred boundaries and family life: The case of Irish entrepreneurs. In R. J. Burke & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), The long work hours culture: Causes, consequences, and choices (pp. 159-181). Bingley: Emerald.
McMillan, H. S., Morris, M. L. and Atchley, E. K. (2011) ‘Constructs of the Work/Life Interface: A Synthesis of the Literature and Introduction of the Concept of Work/Life Harmony’. Human Resource Development Review, 10(1), pp. 6–25.
Question 3:
How does role congruity theory help to explain why women are under-represented in leadership roles? Drawing upon Ibarra, Ely and Kolb (2013) and Elsesser and Lever (2011) ‘to support your answer.
Eagly, A. H. and Karau, S. J. (2002) ‘Role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders’. Psychological Review, 109(3), pp. 573-598.
Elsesser, K. M. and Lever, J. (2011) ‘Does gender bias against female leaders persist? Quantitative and qualitative data from a large-scale survey’. Human Relations, 64(12), pp. 1555-1578.
Hoobler, J.M., Wayne, S.J. and Lemmon, G. (2009) ‘Bosses’ perceptions of family-work conflict and women’s promotability: Glass ceiling effects’. Academy of Management Journal, 52(5), pp. 939-957.
Ibarra, H., Ely, R. and Kolb, D. (2013) ‘Women rising: The unseen barriers’. Harvard Business Review, 91(9), pp. 60-66.
Ibarra, H., Ely, R. and Kolb, D. (2013) ‘Women rising: The unseen barriers’. Harvard Business Review, 91(9), pp. 60-66.
Rudman, L.A. and Glick, P. (2001) ‘Prescriptive gender stereotypes and backlash toward agentic women’. Journal of Social Issues, 57(4), pp. 743-762.
Question 4:
“There is a direct relationship between stress and employee performance.” Critically evaluate the above statement drawing upon Mark and Smith (2006).
Mark, G. M., and Smith, A. P. (2008) ‘Stress models: A review and suggested new direction’. Occupational Health Psychology, 3, pp. 111-144.
Glaser, D. N., Tatum, B. C., Nebeker, D. M., Sorenson, R. C. and Aiello, J. R. (1999) ‘Workload and social support: Effects on performance and stress’. Human Performance, 12(2), pp. 155-176.
Hunter, L. W. and Thatcher, S. M. B. (2007) ‘Feeling the heat: Effects of stress, commitment, and job experience on job performance’. Academy of Management Journal, 50(4), pp. 953-968.
LePine, J. A., LePine, M. A., and Jackson, C. L. (2004) ‘Challenge and hindrance stress: Relationships with exhaustion, motivation to learn, and learning performance’. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(5), pp. 883-891.
Liu, C., Liu, Y., Mills, M. J. and Fan, J. (2013) ‘Job stressors, job performance, job dedication, and the moderating effect of conscientiousness: A mixed-method approach’. International Journal of Stress Management, 20(4), pp. 336-363.
Penney, L. M. and Spector, P. E. (2005) ‘Job stress, incivility, and counterproductive work behaviour (CWB): The moderating role of negative affectivity’. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(7), pp. 777-796.
Podsakoff, N. P., LePine, J. A. and LePine, M. A. (2007) ‘Differential challenge stressor-hindrance stressor relationships with job attitudes, turnover intentions, turnover, and withdrawal behaviour: A meta-analysis’. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(2), pp. 438.
Sidle, S. D. (2008) ‘Workplace stress management interventions: What works best?’ The Academy of Management Perspectives, 22(3), pp. 111-112.
Spector, P. E. and O’Connell, B. J. (1994) ‘The contribution of personality traits, negative affectivity, locus of control and Type A to the subsequent reports of job stressors and job strains’. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 67(1), pp. 1-11.
Van Yperen, N. W. and Hagedoorn, M. (2003) ‘Do high job demands increase intrinsic motivation or fatigue or both? The role of job control and job social support’. Academy of Management Journal, 46(3), pp. 339-348.
Question 5:
“Emotions are problematic for organisations.” Critically assess this statement, drawing upon Williams (2003); and Barsade and Gibson (2007).
Williams, C. (2003) ‘Sky service: The demands of emotional labour in the airline industry’. Gender, Work & Organization, 10(5), pp. 513-550.
Barsade, S. G. and Gibson, D. E. (2007) ‘Why does affect matter in organizations?’ Academy of Management Perspectives, 21(1), pp. 36-59.
Ashkanasy, N. M. and Daus, C. S. (2002) ‘Emotion in the workplace: The new challenge for managers’. The Academy of Management Executive, 16(1), pp. 76-86.
Diefendorff, J. M., Croyle, M. H. and Gosserand, R. H. (2005) ‘The dimensionality and antecedents of emotional labour strategies’. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 66(2), pp. 339-357.
Gibson, D. E. and Callister, R. R. (2010) ‘Anger in organizations: Review and integration’. Journal of Management, 36(1), pp. 66-93.
Hϋlsheger, U. R. and Schewe, A. F. (2011) ‘On the costs and benefits of emotional labor: A meta-analysis of three decades of research’. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 16(3), pp. 361-389.
Judge, T. A., Woolf, E. F. and Hurst, C. (2009) ‘Is emotional labour more difficult for some than for others? A multilevel, experience-sampling study’. Personnel Psychology, 62(1), pp. 57-88.
Seo, M-G. and Barrett, L. F. (2007) ‘Being emotional during decision making – good or bad? An empirical investigation’. Academy of Management Journal, 50(4), pp. 923-940.
Shockley, K. M., Ispas, D., Rossi, M. E. and Levine, E. L. (2012) ‘A meta-analytic investigation of the relationship between state affect, discrete emotions, and job performance’. Human Performance, 25(5), pp. 377-411.
Sy, T., Côté, S. and Saavedra, R. (2005) ‘The contagious leader: Impact of the leader`s mood on the mood of group members, group affective tone, and group processes’. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(2), pp. 295-305.
Question 6:
How do organisations create perceptions of Organisational Justice, drawing upon Cropanzano, R., Bowen, D. E., & Gilliland, S. W. (2007), discuss the relative importance of Distributive Justice, Procedural Justice and Interactional Justice in the management of perceptions of justice in organisations.
Coyle-Shapiro, J. A. and Dhensa-Kahlon, R. (2011) Justice in the 21st century organization. In K. Townsend & A. Wilkinson (Eds.), Research handbook on the future of work and employment relations (pp. 385-404). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
Cropanzano, R., Bowen, D. E. and Gilliland, S. W. (2007) `The Management of Organizational Justice`. Academy of Management Perspectives, November 2007, pp. 34-48.
Question 7:
Organisations use images of diversity or information about diversity initiatives in their recruitment advertising to attract job candidates from under-represented groups. Drawing upon Avery (2003), Martins & Parsons (2007), and Williamson et al. (2008), identify three factors that have been shown to influence job applicants’ reactions to this type of advertising, and explain how they do so.
Avery, D. R. (2003). Reactions to diversity in recruitment advertising–are differences black and white? Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(4), 672-679.
Martins, L. L. and Parsons, C. K. (2007) ‘Effects of gender diversity management on perceptions of organizational attractiveness: The role of individual differences in attitudes and beliefs’. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(3), pp. 865-875.
Williamson, I. O., Slay, H. S., Shapiro, D. L. and Shivers-Blackwell, S. L. (2008) ‘The effect of explanations on prospective applicants’ reactions to firm diversity practices’. Human Resource Management, 47(2), pp. 311-330.
Question 8:
According to the rational actor model of hiring decisions, employers will change their stereotyped beliefs about minority job applicants after having positive experiences with members of that minority group. According to Pager and Karafin’s (2009) study, what do employers do in real life?
Pager, D. and Karafin, D. (2009) ‘Bayesian Bigot? Statistical Discrimination, Stereotypes, and Employer Decision Making’. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, 621(1), pp. 70-93.
