Organizational Psychology:

A Scientist-Practitioner Approach
Jex, S. M., & Britt, T. W. (2014)
Productive Behavior in Organizations

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Defining Productive Behavior

Employee behavior that contributes to the goals of the organization
Three common forms:

Job Performance
Linked to behaviors associated with jobrelated tasks
Distinguished from other related terms
(effectiveness, utility, productivity,
efficiency)
Critical to clearly define the criterion

Models of Job Performance

Aimed at identifying performance dimensions
common to all jobs
Several dimensional models:
In- versus extra-role performance
Campbells eight-dimensional framework
Murphys four-dimensional model

Campbells eight-dimensional framework

Murphys four-dimensional model

Measurement of Job Performance

Various methods exist:
Paper/pencil, job skills, hands-on, simulations, task ratings, and
general/global ratings
Ratings are generally the most popular
Focus on evaluating performance-related behaviors
Indirect is more common than direct
Murphys list of performance assessment options
Good measurement must overcome many threats:
Measurement/rater error
Restricted range in ratings
Instability of performance over time
Efforts to reduce error in ratings
Behaviorally anchored rating scales
Rater training
Multiple methods
Distinction between:
Typical or normal performance
Maximum or peak performance
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Restriction in Performance Ratings

The problem is in low variability among employees when
using the rating data
Artifactual restriction versus true restriction
Possible reasons for this restriction:
Survival of the fittest
Organizational standards are too low
High performance is not consistently valued
Low performance is often excused
Resources are unevenly distributed or limited
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Instability in Job Performance Over Time

Challenge of assessing employee performance

when it changes over time (i.e., when it is not
stable)
Comment 5.4

Possible reasons for instability:

Changes in employees knowledge
Changes in the jobs characteristics

Determinants of Job Performance

At a general level, a persons performance
on the job is due to a combination of:
Ability
Motivation
Situation

Several other models have expanded upon

this general idea
Figure 5.1 provides a summary
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Determinant of Job Performance

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Predictor of Job Performance

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General Mental Ability

Persons capacity for information processing and
understanding
Shown to account for 25%+ of variance in
performance across most jobs
Especially when job is complex
May be associated with job performance via a
persons job-related knowledge
Narrow cognitive abilities may be better predictors
than GMA
Potential adverse impact of GMA tests
Emotional intelligence as a predictor of performance
May be especially important in jobs requiring
emotional labor
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Job Experience
Shown to relate positively to job
performance over many jobs
As with GMA, seems to link to performance
via job-related knowledge
Diminishing returns
May be important to consider both density
and timing of past job experiences

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Personality
Recent resurgence of interest here
Several specific traits have shown consistent positive
relationships with performance:
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Openness to experience
Emerging considerations for predicting performance:
Bandwidth: Trait versus facet level
Potential curvilinear relationships
Contextualizing personality to the job
Composite traits related to performance
Core self-evaluations
Psychological capital
Proactive personality
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Organizational Citizenship Behaviors

Behaviors that go beyond those required for
(or rewarded in) the job
Organs classification:
Altruism
Courtesy
Sportsmanship
Conscientiousness
Civic virtue

Main reasons for OCB: Positive affect,

equity, and disposition/personality
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Major Antecedents of OCB

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Special Issues in OCB Research

How is OCB linked with employee and
organization performance and
effectiveness?
Does OCB effectiveness or vice versa?
The construct validity of OCB
What role do employee expectations play?
Will OCB remain a viable construct in the
future?
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Innovation in Organizations
Productive behavior in which useful novelty is created and
applied within an organization
Research is considering the influence of employee and
organization factors (separately and together) on the
development of innovation
Employee attributes that matter: Specific skills, metaskills, personality characteristics, and motivation necessary
for creativity
Organizational determinants:
Technical vs. administrative innovation
Strategies for increasing organizational innovation:
Hiring, training, influencing motivation
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Adaptive Performance
Behaviors employees perform in
challenging and changing work contexts
Eight types of adaptive performance
Examples:
Handling emergencies or crisis situations
Handling work stress
Solving problems creatively
Dealing with uncertain and unpredictable
situations
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