Browsing by Author "Joan J. Michael, Committee Chair"

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    Internet Recruiting: The Effects of Website Features on Viewers' Perceptions of Organizational Culture
    (2008-04-16) Braddy, Phillip Wayne; Joan J. Michael, Committee Chair; S. Bart Craig, Committee Member; Lori Foster Thompson, Committee Member; Adam W. Meade, Committee Co-Chair
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    Measurement Equivalence of English and Spanish Versions of the Perceived Leader Integrity Scale
    (2005-07-25) Datta, Anasuya; Joan J. Michael, Committee Chair; Adam Meade, Committee Member; Bart Craig, Committee Co-Chair
    Research over the last three decades has addressed the importance of integrity in leadership (e.g., Burns, 1978; Fairholm, 1991; Posner & Schmidt, 1984; Vitell & Davis, 1990). Research and application are stunted without adequate measures that assess the extent to which leaders demonstrate ethical or unethical behaviors. As business activities between countries increase (Stephens & Greer, 1995), having tests available in multiple languages can have various benefits (Zumbo, 2003). The availability of a measure in different languages can allow researchers and practitioners to facilitate assessment without having to build a new test, develop understandings of new cultural differences, and conduct comparative research. This study used the differential functioning of items and tests (DFIT; Raju, van der Linden, & Fleer, 1995) framework, based on item response theory (IRT), to assess the measurement equivalence between two language versions of the Perceived Leader Integrity Scale (PLIS; Craig & Gustafson, 1998) using samples collected from the United States, New Zealand, and Mexico. The U.S. and New Zealand samples formed the English speaking or US-NZ group and the Mexico sample formed the Spanish speaking group. Two indices of DFIT were used to determine item level (NCDIF) and test level (DTF) inequivalence between the comparison groups. Results showed 17.9% (5 out of 28) of the items to be differentially functioning. No significant DTF was identified at the test level. Post hoc explanations of the items with significant NCDIF in terms of possible cultural and linguistic influences provide information about the possible reasons why the items are functioning differentially (e.g. translation errors, cultural differences, or both). Practical implications of the current study are discussed.
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    The Role of Ability in Goal Setting: A Re-specification of Ability and Task Complexity as Goal-Performance Moderators
    (2008-03-11) Craven, Denise Elizabeth; Joan J. Michael, Committee Chair
    The present study sought integration of two well-documented relationships: the relationship between general mental ability and performance of complex tasks, and between goal characteristics and level of work performance. Goal-setting theory states that the impact of goal level (difficulty and specificity) on performance depends on the task's complexity level. Past versions of the theory have also specified ability as a moderator of the goal-performance relationship. This study tested an alternative model of ability and task complexity as goal-performance moderators: a 3-way interaction among general mental ability (GMA), goal level, and task complexity. Undergraduate psychology students completed a class-scheduling task, which manipulated task complexity and goal difficulty at two levels each. Whereas main effects of task complexity and GMA were found, the 3-way interaction was not supported. Statistical and design limitations, including the absence of control for goal commitment, are discussed.