Browsing by Author "Stockdale, Margaret"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Effects of Feedback Seeking Behavior on Supervisor Perceptions: Examining the Interaction of Seeking Frequency With Supervisor Implicit Person Theory and Feedback Orientation
    (2024-05) Schneider, Jacob; Williams, Jane; Stockdale, Margaret; Derricks, Veronica
    Feedback seeking is an essential process for employees to improve performance and clarify expectations (Renn & Fedor, 2001; Ashford & Tsui, 199). Certain factors such as ego and image defense limit feedback seeking in the workplace due to avoidance of negative outcomes (Ashford & Cummings, 1983), however we know less about whether feedback seeking does lead to actual negative outcomes for the employee (Ashford, De Stobbeleir, & Nujella, 2016). The current study examines the existence of actual costs to the seeker for seeking more frequently and adds to the literature by examining whether supervisor individual differences are related to perceptions of seeking behavior, namely implicit person theory and feedback orientation. With a sample of 275 adult supervisors recruited from Mturk, the current study measured participants on these individual differences and assessed perceptions of a fictional employee who either sought feedback with high or low frequency. The employee was rated on a selection of performance potential outcomes related to promotability, expectations of future performance, willingness to mentor, and candidacy for career development opportunities. Findings suggest there is a cost associated with seeking feedback at a higher frequency which manifests as a decrease in perceptions of confidence in the employee. Additionally, this perception of lower confidence from seeking feedback could contribute to more significant downstream outcomes such as expectations of lower quality performance and lower likelihood of being promoted. By understanding more about individuals’ perceptions of feedback seeking behavior, we may train supervisors how to be more receptive of different feedback seeking behavior. This could assist in fostering a performance improvement environment that ultimately improves organizational performance.
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    Employee and Supervisor (Mis)Matching IPT and Performance Management Consequences
    (2022-05) Findley, Mya; Williams, Jane; Stockdale, Margaret; Derricks, Veronica
    Although performance management (PM) is a common, vital system used in most organizations, both supervisors and employees have been routinely disappointed with PM experiences, despite extensive research. Recent studies have identified certain individual differences that impact PM effectiveness. Specifically, the inclination to believe that one’s core traits are either malleable (an incremental mindset; high IPT) or fixed (an entity mindset; low IPT), a concept called "implicit person theory" (IPT), predicts many important supervisor behaviors that subsequently influence employee’s behaviors and attitudes. Furthermore, there is substantial support indicating that employee IPT also predicts their own performance, behaviors, and attitudes. This research shows the many benefits of having a high IPT over a low IPT. In this study, I examined the matching or mismatching IPT between employees and their respective supervisors and whether this differentially predicts employee attitudes that relate to PM. Responses were gathered from 211 participants. In an initial survey, participants were asked to report their IPT and their perceptions of their supervisor’s IPT. Two days later, participants reported their perceptions of procedural justice, satisfaction with PM, and motivation to improve performance. Employee perceptions of procedural justice and satisfaction were combined into a single measure measuring general affective reactions to PM, after an exploratory factor analysis revealed the two outcomes loaded onto a single factor. PROCESS Model 1 was used to examine the central hypothesis. I found significant interactions of employee and supervisor IPT on motivation and affective reactions to PM. The relationship between employee IPT and motivation was positive and strongest when supervisors had a high IPT, and was positive but weaker when supervisors had a low IPT. Interestingly, the relationship between employee IPT and affective reactions was negative when supervisors had a low IPT, such that low IPT employees reported better affective reactions to PM when they perceived their supervisors to have a low IPT rather than a high IPT. This research contributes to the literature by demonstrating the nuances of how IPT predicts employee outcomes. Organizations can benefit from this research by increasing awareness of one’s IPT and implementing cultural changes alongside interventions to increase favorable outcomes.
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    An Investigation of Organizational Democracy as a Predictor of Hierarchy Attenuation Through Individual Participation in Organizational Decision-Making
    (2022-12) Grabowski, Matthew T.; Ashburn-Nardo, Leslie; Williams, Jane; Stockdale, Margaret; Merritt, Cullen
    Racial and gender discrimination in the workplace is still prevalent in western society. Authoritarian organizational hierarchies may further embed stereotypes and prejudice that reduce the likelihood for inclusion and equity within organizations. Democracy as an alternative governance structure for organizations has been proposed and practiced in organizations within western societies demonstrating effectiveness in reducing class disparities, but limited work has investigated racial and gender-based disparities. Employees working in democratically and non-democratically governed organizations were surveyed on their level of participation in organizational governance and attitudes toward their organization. Employees within democratically governed organizations experience on average higher positive job attitudes compared to employees in non-democratically governed organizations regardless of gender or race. It is found that women, Asian American, and Pacific Islander employees participate in organizational governance at equivalent rates as White male colleagues, but Black, Indigenous, and People of Color employees do not. Members of minoritized groups within democratically governed organizations experience similar feelings influence over organizational outcomes and psychological ownership compared to their White male colleagues. Findings also imply having an ownership stake in the organization plays a significant role individual participation but cannot fully account for racial disparities in participation rates within democratically governed organizations. These results imply democratically governed organizations may effectively increase racial and gender inclusion and equity, but not fully reduce existing racial disparities. Future work should continue to explore additional mechanisms that influence individual participation in organizational governance and how perceptions of status and competence differentiate between governance structures within organizations.
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    Prototypicality and Ingroup Perceptions: The Role of Identity Denial
    (2021-12) Trujillo, Leidy D.; Ashburn-Nardo, Leslie; Stockdale, Margaret; Pietri, Evava
    Hispanics are the fastest-growing minority group within the United States, and the present work studies the existence of intragroup biases within this community due to violations of prototypicality and the existence of colorism. The present work also explores identity denial as a possible mediator of the relationship between target prototypicality and negative social consequences. Especially, when presented with lighter-skin or darker-skin targets, Hispanic/Latinx individuals are more likely to see them as less likable, and less warm when compared to a prototypical target. There was no evidence to support that identity denial mediated this relationship. Additionally, this research extends previous literature on the content of stereotypes faced by individuals of differing skin colors and finds conflicting results using an intragroup sample. Unexpected results suggest prototypicality may trump phenotypic variations within this unique population.