Knowledge that Transforms

PREVIOUS ARTICLETechnology and Structure: The Concrete, Abstract, and Activity Systems of Organizations

An important but seldomly addressed issue for both managers and researchers is how the environment influences innovation in work organizations. A theoretical model explaining this influence is presented and suggests that the environment affects both an organization's emphasis on change and the emphasis given a specific innovation. Findings from a sample of 2083 managers from 96 organizations illustrated that (a) these two emphases were empirically distinct and (b) only the latter significantly influenced managers' tendencies to inform their subordinates about an innovation. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for future research and managerial implementation of innovations.

The work values of high school students were compared with those of young, recently hired blue- and white-collar workers. Recently hired workers in low-level jobs emphasized intrinsic values more and extrinsic values less than did high school students. Threats to the validity of this finding are discussed. It is concluded that the generalization that workers in lower level jobs emphasize extrinsic values more and intrinsic values less than do individuals socialized to higher level jobs does not apply to young, recent hires in low-level jobs.

This study investigated the effects that a mediator's proposals, the number of issues, and the mediator's alteration of the negotiators' aspirations have upon negotiators' bargaining outcomes. In the study subjects bargained face to face while a confederate acted as the mediator. The results revealed that (a) mediator proposals improve negotiators' outcomes, (b) proposals are more effective when few issues are under negotiation, and (c) raised negotiator aspirations result in higher payoffs only when there are few bargaining issues.

Darrow and Kahl's (1982) paper on detecting moderator variables is misleading because it contains both logical and methodological problems. The present paper was written to respond to two of those problems: their distinction between pure and mixed moderators and their choice of model for testing for moderator effects. In this paper we show that the distinction between pure and mixed models is uninformative and that the standard hierarchical regression model represents the appropriate method for identifying moderator variables.

Peters and O'Connor (1980) have argued that the presence of situational performance constraints reduces motivation to perform, with an accompanying decrease in satisfaction. They have also argued that the presence of these constraints limits the influence of other motivational strategies designed to improve motivation and satisfaction. This survey research provides partial support for these hypotheses. The perceived existence of high constraints was found to be significantly related to negative affective reactions. However, the existence of high constraints failed to limit the effects of task scope on these outcomes. The indirect effect of constraints appeared to be more a function of whether respondents felt personally in control of relevant outcomes rather than merely a function of the perceived existence of constraints. Finally, as Peters and O'Connor have suggested, the perceived existence of constraints masked the influence of a relevant individual difference variable in this sample: As predicted, growth need strength moderated the task scope-outcome relationship only in the absence of high situational constraints.

Attempts by organizational researchers to conceptualize and explicate the concepts of technology and structure have been subject to inconsistencies and misspecifications. These problems stem from the absence of an integrative framework that considers these concepts simultaneously. Such a framework is developed here, rooted both in the theoretical work on technology and structure and in systems theory. This framework specifies the qualitatively different components that constitute technology in organizations, the hierarchical arrangement of these components, and the nature of organizational structuring. The components considered are those associated with the concrete (living and nonliving), the abstract, and the activity systems that characterize organizations. These system components are integrated into a model of technology and structure. Implications of this model for the management of technological and structural change are discussed.