I begin by examining some ways in which organisations have attempted to improve their recruitment and selection procedures to minimise bias and unfair discrimination, and focus on…
Abstract
I begin by examining some ways in which organisations have attempted to improve their recruitment and selection procedures to minimise bias and unfair discrimination, and focus on the assessment centre as a potentially useful technique in this respect, especially for managerial selection. I go on to examine the assessment centre in more detail, including its origins, construction and uses, before discussing the strong evidence for its validity as a selection and assessment procedure. I then describe some recent British innovations in assessment centre design and practice, especially in its use for management and organisation development purposes, before discussing some of my own recent research, in collaboration with Ivan Robertson and Usha Rout, on participants' attitudes towards the use of assessment centres for selection and development purposes, including gender differences in attitudes.
At the 1985 annual conference of the British Psychological Society, Dr. Ivan Robertson and Peter Makin of the University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology (UMIST…
Abstract
At the 1985 annual conference of the British Psychological Society, Dr. Ivan Robertson and Peter Makin of the University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology (UMIST) presented a paper about management selection A review of approaches to the prediction of performance at work. In its present form it is academic in approach, but there are some factors which should be of interest to all managers and potential managers.
Paul Iles, Ivan Robertson and Usharani Rout
A fair amount of evidence has been amassed concerning thereliability, validity and fairness of assessment centres when used forselection purposes. Selection‐oriented assessment…
Abstract
A fair amount of evidence has been amassed concerning the reliability, validity and fairness of assessment centres when used for selection purposes. Selection‐oriented assessment centres provide valid predictions of managerial performance and success, and seem not to generate significant adverse impact against black or female candidates. Assessment centres increasingly, however, seem to be used for purposes other than immediate job selection. In particular, they are often used for the identification of long‐term managerial potential, and for the diagnosis of training and development needs, perhaps as a part of an overall audit of managerial strengths and weaknesses or as a part of a wider organisational development effort. Two studies of participants′ reactions to development centres are presented. These are followed by two longitudinal studies of the impact on a range of career and organisational attitudes held by participants of two development centres run by two major UK financial services organisations.
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Ivan T. Robertson, Alex Jansen Birch and Cary L. Cooper
This article aims to test the hypothesis that employee productivity levels will be better predicted by a combination of positive job and work attitudes (employee engagement) and…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to test the hypothesis that employee productivity levels will be better predicted by a combination of positive job and work attitudes (employee engagement) and psychological well‐being than by positive job and work attitudes alone.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data using psychometrically sound measures of the key constructs were collected for a sample of over 9,000 people across 12 organisations.
Findings
Multiple regression analyses reveal that psychological well‐being has incremental value over and above that of positive job and work attitudes in predicting self‐reported levels of performance.
Research limitations/implications
The study design involves cross sectional self‐report data and as such firm conclusions about causality cannot be drawn.
Practical implications
The results suggest that if employers focus only on job and work attitudes and ignore employee psychological well‐being, they will limit the benefits that can be obtained through initiatives such as programmes designed to improve employee engagement.
Originality/value
The study provides evidence that two previously separate constructs are both important in predicting measures of employee productivity.
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Ivan T. Robertson and Cary L. Cooper
By introducing the concept of “full engagement,” this article aims to propose that employee engagement is more likely to be sustainable when employee well‐being is also high.
Abstract
Purpose
By introducing the concept of “full engagement,” this article aims to propose that employee engagement is more likely to be sustainable when employee well‐being is also high.
Design/methodology/approach
Research evidence covering the separate concepts is reviewed and evidence of the benefits that both engagement and well‐being confer on organizations is presented.
Findings
Most current perspectives on employee engagement include little of direct relevance to well‐being and reflect a narrow, commitment‐based view of engagement. This view focuses too heavily on benefits to organizations. A broader conception of engagement (referred to as “full engagement”), which includes employee well‐being, is a better basis for building sustainable benefits for individuals and organizations.
Research limitations/implications
Research exploring the links between employee engagement and well‐being is needed to validate and develop the propositions put forward in this article.
Practical implications
A model for improving full engagement in organizations is presented and brief; case study illustrations are also given.
Originality/value
The integration of well‐being and commitment‐based engagement into the single construct of full engagement provides a novel perspective.
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Ivan T. Robertson, Richard Bell and Golnaz Sadri
Previous research on the use of behaviour modelling techniques fortraining in industry have shown it to be generally effective. Further,more specific work has suggested that…
Abstract
Previous research on the use of behaviour modelling techniques for training in industry have shown it to be generally effective. Further, more specific work has suggested that effectiveness might be improved by the use of techniques (symbolic coding and rehearsal) designed to improve trainees’ retention processes. This study examined the use of symbolic coding (learning points) and rehearsal techniques in behaviour modelling training. The data were derived from a field experiment conducted in a UK financial services organisation. Although, as expected, the behaviour modelling approach did produce effective learning the results showed that, contrary to hypotheses, variations in symbolic coding (different learning points conditions) and rehearsal did not influence training outcomes.
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Ivan Robertson, Mark P. Healey, Gerard P. Hodgkinson, Jill Flint-Taylor and Fiona Jones
The purpose of this paper is to explore relationships between leader personality traits (neuroticism and conscientiousness) and four specific workplace stressors (control; work…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore relationships between leader personality traits (neuroticism and conscientiousness) and four specific workplace stressors (control; work overload; work-life balance and managerial relationships) experienced by work group members.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors accessed personality data from N=84 leaders and surveyed members of their respective work groups (N=928) to measure established workplace stressors. Multi-level modelling analyses were conducted to explore relationships between leader neuroticism and conscientiousness and work group members’ perceptions of sources of pressure.
Findings
The results relate to the general problem of how, and to what extent leaders have an impact on the well-being of members of their workgroups. Although previous research has generally associated conscientiousness with effective leadership, the results suggest that some facets of conscientiousness may be less useful for leadership effectiveness than others. In particular, the results show that leaders’ levels of achievement striving are linked to poor work life balance scores for their workgroups. The results also show that leader neuroticism is not related to work group members’ perceptions of sources of pressure.
Practical implications
The findings showed that leader personality influences three out of the four employee stressors hypothesized. The idea that the influence of leader personality may be relatively indirect via employee working conditions is potentially important and suggests implications for practice. To the extent that the negative effects of leader personality are mediated via working conditions, it may be feasible to counter, or at least assuage such effects by implementing appropriate regulations or working practices that mitigate leaders’ ability to influence the specific conditions in question.
Originality/value
Most studies have focused on how employee well-being outcomes are influenced through the direct impacts of leadership styles and behaviours, or contagious emotions. The authors explore an alternative and untested proposition that the leaders’ personality influences the working conditions that are afforded to subordinates. No empirical research to date have examined the relationships between leader personality and workplace stressors. The research also demonstrates the importance of using facet-level personality measures, compared with measures at the broad domain level.
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Industrial training draws ideas from many diverse disciplines and attempts to use them in a practical way. One of these underlying disciplines is psychology, but the trainer who…
Abstract
Industrial training draws ideas from many diverse disciplines and attempts to use them in a practical way. One of these underlying disciplines is psychology, but the trainer who delves into the research in this field often finds himself faced with a massive range of material that seems confusing and, to a large extent, irrelevant to his real needs.
Beatrice Orlando, Manlio Del Giudice, Shlomo Tarba, Cary L. Cooper, Ari Ginsberg, Arvind Malhotra and Detmar Straub