The Importance of Processes and Contexts in Organizational Psychology.
Abstract
This is a conceptual, prescriptive article analyzing current trends and suggesting a redirectional necessary for the advancement of organizational psychology. Two divergent but possibly complementary approaches--the conservative and the radical--are outlined as accomplishing such a redirection in the field. The conservative approach emphasizes four needs requiring attention: (1) improved construct validity, (2) more careful selection and measurement of dependent variables, including a change in those deemed important, (3) new applications of longitudinal and experimental research designs, and (4) an increased and more appropriate use of multivariate statistical analyses. The radical approach encompasses conceptualizing organizations as social structures, the symbolic nature of management as a process, and a focus on processes across levels of analysis. It is predicted that, regardless of whether one views the future in the field as being indicative of the conservative or a more radical approach, we will see the roles of contexts and processes in research and application as being influential. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1980
- Accession Number
- ADA091706
Entities
People
- L. L. Cummings
Organizations
- University of Wisconsin–Madison