Nancy E. Day and Doranne Hudson
The expansion of religious diversity in US workplaces increases the relevance of leaders' religious motivations and the impact on their organizations. This paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
The expansion of religious diversity in US workplaces increases the relevance of leaders' religious motivations and the impact on their organizations. This paper aims to investigate whether small company leaders' religious motivations predict their perceptions that their organization's values are directed to the welfare of others.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was mailed to top executives of Midwestern US firms with 20 to 250 employees, measuring leaders' organizational values and religious motivation. The sample revealed itself to be mostly Christian.
Findings
Findings show that, as predicted, leaders higher in extrinsic religious motivation toward personal benefit were less likely than those lower in this type of religious motivation to perceive other‐directed organizational values. However, neither intrinsic religious motivation nor extrinsic religious motivation toward social ends predicted a tendency to perceive other‐directed organizational values.
Research limitations/implications
Future research directions could assess the impact of beliefs associated with faith traditions on leader values and decision making. Further, a qualitative approach to data gathering may result in richer data. Limitations include a relatively low response rate and a sample skewed toward religiously motivated, mostly Christian small business leaders.
Practical implications
Just because small business leaders are religiously motivated does not mean that their perceived organizational values will be directed toward the welfare of others.
Originality/value
Little research exists about how small business leaders' religious motivations affect their organizational values. This research counters common assumptions that leaders' religious motivations will affect how they view their organizations' values.
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Nancy E. Day and Patricia Schoenrade
There is currently very little research to support the popularly held claim that “closeted” homosexual workers will have a less positive work‐related attitude and no empirical…
Abstract
There is currently very little research to support the popularly held claim that “closeted” homosexual workers will have a less positive work‐related attitude and no empirical investigation of companies that prohibit discrimination on grounds of sexuality. This study used data from a survey of 744 homosexual employees to determine the relationships of reported disclosure of sexual orientation, anti‐discrimination policies and top management support for equal rights with relevant work attitudes. All three independent variables were found to be significantly related to affective organizational commitment and conflict between work and home. Additionally, anti‐discrimination policies and top management support were related to job satisfaction. However, none of the independent variables were significantly associated with continuance organizational commitment or job stress. It is suggested that human resource managers concerned with integrating gay and lesbian employees begin by educating top managers and creating a work environment in which disclosure of homosexual orientation is supported.
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Although some research shows that positive outcomes occur when workers understand how their pay is determined, little is known about the dynamics of how pay communication affects…
Abstract
Purpose
Although some research shows that positive outcomes occur when workers understand how their pay is determined, little is known about the dynamics of how pay communication affects pay satisfaction. This research proposes that the relationships between pay communication and pay satisfaction exist because justice perceptions mediate them. Pay communication is of particular interest to managers of public sector organizations, where many aspects of the pay system are in the public domain, and without adequate communication, may be easily misunderstood by workers. The purpose of this paper is to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The study consists of a sample of 384 employees of a Midwestern public university in the USA who completed two questionnaires. Structural equation modeling is used.
Findings
Pay communication has both direct and mediated relationships with pay satisfaction (satisfaction with pay level, benefits, pay raise, and pay administration). Distributive justice accounts for more variance in all pay satisfaction dimensions than procedural justice. Interpersonal and information justice are essentially unrelated to pay satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
The sample over‐represents women, non‐minorities, and workers with long‐service records. Results may not be generalizeable to other organizational contexts, particularly to private sector organizations.
Practical implications
Perceived pay communication predicts not only pay satisfaction, but also perceptions of organizational justice. In turn, justice's mediation is critical to enhancing satisfaction with pay. Organizations should carefully design and implement pay communication programs.
Originality/value
First, the relationships between perceived pay communication and pay satisfaction are shown to be, in part, based on justice perceptions. Second, issues of pay communication have rarely been studied in US public sector organizations, which require open pay systems. Third, this paper presents improvements in measures and other methods over past research in pay communication.
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The paper's purpose is to investigate the relationships between pay communication and referent choice, pay satisfaction and pay equity perceptions.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper's purpose is to investigate the relationships between pay communication and referent choice, pay satisfaction and pay equity perceptions.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 149 employed graduate business students from a variety of organizations were surveyed at two different times, first to assess dependent variables (pay satisfaction and pay equity perceptions), and second to measure perceived pay policies.
Findings
Contrary to predictions, increased pay communication was not associated with referent choice, and referent choice was unrelated to pay attitudes. Pay communication was also unassociated with pay satisfaction. However, increased pay communication was found to be negatively related to pay equity perceptions.
Research limitations/implications
A two‐questionnaire survey methodology was designed to minimize the possibility of common method variance. Because few employers communicate about pay, there was restriction of range for this independent variable, perhaps constraining results. However, the use of multiple employers, even in this student population, constitutes a meaningful sample.
Practical implications
Employers should be cautious about what pay information they provide to their employees, since this study suggests that increased pay communication results in lower pay equity perceptions.
Originality/value
Research in this area is extremely limited and thus this paper provides a strong foundation for further investigation.
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The purpose of this study is to extend the pay communication literature by examining the relationship between pay secrecy and turnover intentions with the inclusion of mediators…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to extend the pay communication literature by examining the relationship between pay secrecy and turnover intentions with the inclusion of mediators. This study further analyzes the influence pay secrecy and organizational trust have on three key employee attitudinal variables that are directly related to turnover intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected from participants that were recruited using Mechanical Turk, yielding a sample size of 496. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the hypotheses.
Findings
Findings demonstrate pay secrecy positively influences turnover intentions. This relationship is double-mediated by organizational trust with organizational cynicism, organizational disidentification, and job embeddedness. All hypotheses were supported.
Practical implications
This research shows that pay secrecy has negative effects on employee attitudes and behaviors. Based on the findings of this study, organizations should take steps toward pay openness to avoid employees becoming distrustful and more cynical of the organization, boost feelings of being embedded, and deter organizational disidentification.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the pay communication literature by further explaining the pay secrecy–turnover intentions relationship with the inclusion of mediators that have shown mixed results or have not been previously analyzed to the researchers' knowledge. Specifically, organizational trust, organizational cynicism, organizational disidentification, and job embeddedness were examined as mediators. Previous research has shown mixed results for the influence pay secrecy has on organizational trust, with some studies demonstrating pay secrecy to have a positive effect and others a negative effect. This study demonstrates support for pay secrecy's negative relationship with organizational trust.
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Women are, in increasing numbers, participating in the labour market and are an important part of an organisation’s human resource pool. Nevertheless, women still face…
Abstract
Women are, in increasing numbers, participating in the labour market and are an important part of an organisation’s human resource pool. Nevertheless, women still face inappropriate treatment at work. One cause of this is family‐related issues. In particular, pregnancy and child birth present special challenges for working women. Discrimination towards pregnant women is commonplace in work settings. Problems are often related to individual work relationships, for example, the one between the pregnant follower and her manager. It is important to understand problems that impact on women in working life that can disturb their job satisfaction, their performance and willingness to give their best for the organisation. Therefore, for the benefit of both employer and employee, existing practices in leader follower relationships during pregnancy are worth studying in more depth. In leadership studies, the Leader‐Member Exchange (LMX) theory is focused on dyadic leader‐follower relationships and is thus used here to understand this phenomenon. In the present article, the literature on pregnancy and work as well as on LMX is re viewed. On the basis of these reviews, a future research agenda is offered.
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Shivi Dixit and Brian H. Kleiner
The prevalence of pregnancy discrimination is highlighted by the fact that pregnancy discrimination charges are the fastest‐growing type of discrimination complaints filed with…
Abstract
The prevalence of pregnancy discrimination is highlighted by the fact that pregnancy discrimination charges are the fastest‐growing type of discrimination complaints filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Inspite of a strong legal framework for the protection of women from pregnancy discrimination, it is extremely difficult to prove the cases in our court system. The role of women has changed in our society in the last 50 years. Women are increasingly complaining about pregnancy discrimination despite the fact that they form almost half of the workforce in the United States. There is a need for educating businesses and society at large so that we respect and support a woman’s right to fair treatment during her pregnancy.
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Presents a special issue, enlisting the help of the author’s students and colleagues, focusing on age, sex, colour and disability discrimination in America. Breaks the evidence…
Abstract
Presents a special issue, enlisting the help of the author’s students and colleagues, focusing on age, sex, colour and disability discrimination in America. Breaks the evidence down into manageable chunks, covering: age discrimination in the workplace; discrimination against African‐Americans; sex discrimination in the workplace; same sex sexual harassment; how to investigate and prove disability discrimination; sexual harassment in the military; when the main US job‐discrimination law applies to small companies; how to investigate and prove racial discrimination; developments concerning race discrimination in the workplace; developments concerning the Equal Pay Act; developments concerning discrimination against workers with HIV or AIDS; developments concerning discrimination based on refusal of family care leave; developments concerning discrimination against gay or lesbian employees; developments concerning discrimination based on colour; how to investigate and prove discrimination concerning based on colour; developments concerning the Equal Pay Act; using statistics in employment discrimination cases; race discrimination in the workplace; developments concerning gender discrimination in the workplace; discrimination in Japanese organizations in America; discrimination in the entertainment industry; discrimination in the utility industry; understanding and effectively managing national origin discrimination; how to investigate and prove hiring discrimination based on colour; and, finally, how to investigate sexual harassment in the workplace.
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Kathleen Wilson and Robert Calfee
Purpose – To provide pre-service and in-service teachers with a framework for using formative assessments to inform their literacy instructional…
Abstract
Purpose – To provide pre-service and in-service teachers with a framework for using formative assessments to inform their literacy instructional practices.
Design/methodology/approach – Assessment as inquiry is a cyclical problem-solving stance that can be applied to instructional decision making in the classroom.
Findings – Teachers are urged to keep six design features in mind when creating formative assessments and analyzing the data gathered from them.
Practical Implications – This chapter is a helpful resource for teachers when evaluating their uses and analysis of classroom literacy assessments.
Originality/value – Teachers who apply the information in the chapter will gain a deeper understanding of each student's developing levels of literacy knowledge, skills, strategies, and dispositions. This information will facilitate a teacher's ability to better meet the needs of all students in his or her classroom.
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Hasiato‐Kuan Yang and Brian H. Kleiner
Sets out the US laws that give women protection from discrimination when pregnant. Defines the scope of pregnancy disability and outlines the responsibilities that employers have…
Abstract
Sets out the US laws that give women protection from discrimination when pregnant. Defines the scope of pregnancy disability and outlines the responsibilities that employers have under the law. Focuses on pregnancy regulations in California, describing the provisions made for pregnancy leave, the medical certification needed, the right to reinstatement, the employer’s right to transfer a pregnant employee, and the pregnant employee’s right to transfer. Sets down the policy developed by UCLA concerning pregnancy discrimination. Briefly outlines the evidence a woman would need to show to win a case of discrimination because of pregnancy.