Bipolarity in reactions to operational ‘constraints’: OM bugs under an OB lens

Abstract In the 1980 inaugural issue of the Journal of Operations Management , Powell and Johnson stressed the need to introduce behavioral factors into research models of operational processes and performance. While some progress has been made since then, contemporary authors argue that limited dialogue between operations management and behavioral researchers continues to restrict the interpretability of such studies. Drawing on expertise from both operations and behavioral research, and motivated by a case example, we intend to further this dialogue. In doing so, we outline interdisciplinary commonalities and several methodological pitfalls that those studying the links between resource constraints and operational performance should take into account when developing new research. These issues range from appropriate model conceptualization to operationalization for empirical studies. Recommendations for appropriately confronting methodological concerns related to these issues are provided.

[1]  Candace Arai Yano,et al.  Sequencing to minimize work overload in assembly lines with product options , 1991 .

[2]  R. Sitgreaves.  Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). , 1979 .

[3]  Paul E. Spector,et al.  Development of four self-report measures of job stressors and strain: Interpersonal Conflict at Work Scale, Organizational Constraints Scale, Quantitative Workload Inventory, and Physical Symptoms Inventory. , 1998, Journal of occupational health psychology.

[4]  Manus Rungtusanatham,et al.  Beyond improved quality: the motivational effects of statistical process control , 2001 .

[5]  John O. McClain,et al.  Overcoming the dark side of worker flexibility , 2003 .

[6]  R. Kanfer.  Motivation theory and industrial and organizational psychology. , 1990 .

[7]  Cheryl L. Adkins,et al.  Situational constraints on the achievement – performance relationship: a service sector study , 2001 .

[8]  Howard B. Lee,et al.  Foundations of Behavioral Research , 1973 .

[9]  J. Mathieu,et al.  Influences of Individual and Situational Characteristics on Measures of Training Effectiveness , 1992 .

[10]  J. Edwards.  Multidimensional Constructs in Organizational Behavior Research: An Integrative Analytical Framework , 2001 .

[11]  E. A. Locke,et al.  A theory of goal setting & task performance , 1990 .

[12]  N. Yperen,et al.  Do high job demands increase intrinsic motivation or fatigue or both? The role of job control and job social support , 2003 .

[13]  Kenneth L. Schultz,et al.  Modeling and worker motivation in JIT production systems , 1998 .

[14]  Robert J. Vokurka,et al.  The empirical assessment of construct validity , 1998 .

[15]  Barbara B. Flynn,et al.  Empirical research methods in operations management , 1990 .

[16]  Edward E. Lawler,et al.  Motivation in Work Organizations , 1975 .

[17]  Peter Villanova,et al.  Predictive validity of situational constraints in general versus specific performance domains , 1996 .

[18]  H. Benson,et al.  How much stress is too much? , 1980, Harvard business review.

[19]  Lawrence H. Peters,et al.  The behavioral and affective consequences of performance-relevant situational variables☆ , 1980 .

[20]  H. Klein,et al.  A Field Study of the Influence of Situational Constraints Leader-Member Exchange, and Goal Commitment on Performance , 1998 .

[21]  Sanjay L. Ahire,et al.  Development and Validation of TQM Implementation Constructs , 1996 .

[22]  E. Deci,et al.  Self-determination in a work organization. , 1989 .

[23]  E. A. Locke.  Toward a theory of task motivation and incentives , 1968 .

[24]  R. Lennox,et al.  Conventional wisdom on measurement: A structural equation perspective. , 1991 .

[25]  Roger G. Schroeder,et al.  A FRAMEWORK FOR QUALITY MANAGEMENT RESEARCH AND AN ASSOCIATED MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENT , 1994 .

[26]  Robert H. Storer,et al.  Melt Scheduling to Trade Off Material Waste and Shipping Performance , 2001 .

[27]  Guus de Vries.  Nursing workload measurement as management information , 1987 .

[28]  Winter Nie,et al.  Waiting: integrating social and psychological perspectives in operations management , 2000 .

[29]  Willy Herroelen,et al.  On the merits and pitfalls of critical chain scheduling , 2000 .

[30]  P. Bobko.  Removing Assumptions of Bipolarity: Towards Variation and Circularity , 1985 .

[31]  S. S. Erenguc,et al.  The resource constrained time/cost tradeoff project scheduling problem with discounted cash flows , 1996 .

[32]  Robert Karasek,et al.  Current issues relating to psychosocial job strain and cardiovascular disease research. , 1998, Journal of occupational health psychology.

[33]  Gary Johns,et al.  Aggregation or aggravation? The relative merits of a broad withdrawal construct , 1998 .

[34]  R. Handfield,et al.  May you live in interesting times…the emergence of theory‐driven empirical research , 1998 .

[35]  Stress and the Workload of Professional Women in Sweden , 2000 .

[36]  James R. Evans,et al.  The management and control of quality , 1989 .

[37]  Jwm Will Bertrand,et al.  The use of workload information to control job lateness in controlled and uncontrolled release production systems , 1983 .

[38]  Kimberly F. Kane.  Situational factors and performance: An overview , 1993 .

[39]  M. D. Dunnette.  Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology , 2005 .

[40]  M. Lieberman,et al.  Inventory Reduction and Productivity Growth: Linkages in the Japanese Automotive Industry , 1999 .

[41]  Roger G. Schroeder,et al.  The impact of just-in-time manufacturing and its infrastructure on manufacturing performance , 1997 .

[42]  Dent,et al.  Cognitive Load and the Equality Heuristic: A Two-Stage Model of Resource Overconsumption in Small Groups. , 2000, Organizational behavior and human decision processes.

[43]  R. Yerkes,et al.  The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit‐formation , 1908 .

[44]  Richard Ford.  May you live in interesting times , 1998, Comput. Secur..

[45]  J. Antonakis,et al.  Could lean production job design be intrinsically motivating? Contextual, configurational, and levels-of-analysis issues , 2006 .

[46]  Robert P. Steel,et al.  Impact of situational constraints on subjective and objective criteria of managerial job performance , 1986 .

[47]  Elizabeth C. Ravlin,et al.  Effect of values on perception and decision making: A study of alternative work values measures. , 1987 .

[48]  J. Nunnally.  Psychometric Theory (2nd ed), New York: McGraw-Hill. , 1978 .

[49]  E. Lawler,et al.  Expectancy theory and job behavior , 1973 .

[50]  B. Schneider,et al.  Facilitating Work Effectiveness. , 1989 .

[51]  Timothy D. Fry,et al.  AN ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE OPTIMIZED PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY SOFTWARE AND ITS USE , 2009 .

[52]  Paul E. Tesluk,et al.  Overcoming roadblocks to effectiveness: Incorporating management of performance barriers into models of work group effectiveness. , 1999 .

[53]  S. D. Amundson.  Relationships between theory-driven empirical research in operations management and other disciplines , 1998 .

[54]  L. H. Peters,et al.  Situational constraint effects on performance, affective reactions, and turnover: A field replication and extension. , 1984 .

[55]  V. Vroom.  Work and motivation , 1964 .

[56]  V. Grover,et al.  An assessment of survey research in POM: from constructs to theory , 1998 .

[57]  James B. Shaw,et al.  The Effects of Objective Work-load Variations of Psychological Strain and Post-Work-Load Performance , 1985 .

[58]  Julie M. Hays,et al.  A preliminary investigation of the relationships between employee motivation/vision, service learning, and perceived service quality , 2001 .

[59]  R. Schmenner,et al.  On theory in operations management , 1998 .

[60]  J. W. M Bertrand,et al.  Workload based order release and productivity: a missing link , 2002 .

[61]  Robert Karasek,et al.  Job decision latitude and mental strain: Implications for job redesign , 1979 .

[62]  Robert H. Storer,et al.  Melt Scheduling to Trade Off Material Waste and Shipping Performance , 2001, Oper. Res..

[63]  Jwm Will Bertrand,et al.  The effects of a simple arrival rate control policy on throughput and work-in-process in production systems with workload dependent processing times , 2001 .

[64]  J. Hollenbeck,et al.  Goal commitment and the goal-setting process: Problems, prospects, and proposals for future research. , 1987 .

[65]  William H. Mobley,et al.  Construct validation of an instrumentality-expectancy-task-goal model of work motivation: Some theoretical boundary conditions. , 1973 .

[66]  L. L. Cummings.  Needed Research in Production/Operations Management: A Behavioral Perspective , 1977 .

[67]  R. Hensley.  A review of operations management studies using scale development techniques , 1999 .

[68]  Gary N. Powell,et al.  An expectancy-equity model of productive system performance , 1980 .

[69]  Kenneth A. Bollen,et al.  Structural Equations with Latent Variables , 1989 .

[70]  Roger G. Schroeder,et al.  Six sigma: A goal-theoretic perspective , 2003 .

[71]  James S. Phillips,et al.  Situational Performance Constraints and Task Characteristics: Their Relationship to Motivation and Satisfaction , 1984 .

[72]  Melenie J. Lankau,et al.  Improving Construct Measurement In Management Research: Comments and a Quantitative Approach for Assessing the Theoretical Content Adequacy of Paper-and-Pencil Survey-Type Instruments , 1993 .

[73]  Shelley E. Taylor,et al.  Point of view and perceptions of causality. , 1975 .

[74]  Karl E. Weick,et al.  Managerial behavior, performance, and effectiveness , 1971 .

[75]  D. Malhotra,et al.  The Effects of Contracts on Interpersonal Trust , 2002 .

[76]  L. H. Peters,et al.  Situational Constraints and Work Outcomes: The Influences Of a Frequently Overlooked Construct , 1980 .

[77]  Benjamin Schneider,et al.  PERSON-SITUATION SELECTION: A REVIEW OF SOME ABILITY-SITUATION INTERACTION RESEARCH , 1978 .

[78]  Mark Pagell,et al.  Measurement issues in empirical research: improving measures of operations strategy and advanced manufacturing technology , 2000 .

[79]  Vincent A. Mabert,et al.  Short interval forecasting of emergency phone call (911) work loads , 1985 .

[80]  Jwm Will Bertrand,et al.  Production control and information systems for component-manufacturing shops , 1981 .

[81]  L. Krajewski,et al.  The effects of workforce strategies on manufacturing operations , 1983 .

[82]  Peter Villanova,et al.  A meta-analytic review of situational constraints and work-related outcomes: Alternative approaches to conceptualization , 1993 .

[83]  Lawrence H. Peters,et al.  Situational Constraints and Employee Affective Reactions: A Partial Field Replication , 1982 .

[84]  R. Karasek,et al.  Current issues relating to psychosocial job strain and cardiovascular disease research. , 1998, Journal of occupational health psychology.

[85]  S. Parker,et al.  Minimizing strain and maximizing learning: the role of job demands, job control, and proactive personality. , 1999, The Journal of applied psychology.

[86]  C. Northcote Parkinson,et al.  Parkinson's Law or the Pursuit of Progress , 1958 .