... be-
haviors are regulated by comparisons of performance and an aspiration
level presumes that some agreement exists on the organizational goal and
variables for measuring progress along that goal. ... uncertainty of means-ends relations
Foundations 19
activities. Such goals are easier to form coalitions around than maximiza-
tion goals. Second, the bargainers are unable to calculate the opt...
... ‘acceptable’ than absence for
humanitarian reasons. It is also paid whereas social absence is not. The
occupational physician regularly finds that individuals with frequent
sickness absences are ... the variation, which ranged from 7
Table 6.1 Average number of days of sickness absence
94 Occupational health
2.4 The fact that the infected health care worker may have died, or
may already...
... what they need and when. Feedback to managers can
facilitate organisational change.
Managing change
No one denies that human beings prefer the status quo. Therefore, the
introduction of any change ... well-trained managers
70 Occupational health
behavioural problem which can be controlled by the individual. It is not
always easy for the manager to make a decision as to which of thes...
... 176 Occupational health
Radiation
There is a continually expressed anxiety that display screens emit
damaging ionising and non-ionising radiation. Exhaustive tests by the
National Radiological ... users. The manager of each department should
174 Occupational health
reasonably practicable and what is operationally possible in order to
avoid hazard to health. Strict interpretation of the...
... role that occupational health has wanted
to highlight as it may be perceived as a tool of management. In this, as in
any other aspect of occupational health, the physician has to take a
balanced ... medical examination is
generally a waste of time, many organisations want it and are prepared to
pay for it. External providers may find it difficult to move an organisation
towards a...
... party. Mass media generate and publish rankings on many
forms of organizational performance, since magazine and newspapers
readers have an interest in rankings in general, and in particular rank-
ings ... Organizational Learning from Performance Feedback
available information. The information may be biased, such as when in-
formation is more readily available for high-performing organizatio...
... when and how the organization will respond.
3.3 Aspiration levels and adaptation
Is it helpful or harmful for organizations that managers use performance
feedback and aspiration levels to manage ... Organizational Learning from Performance Feedback
as well as other variables such as satisfaction, so it clearly is an alter-
native way of making employees pursue given goals (Ashford and Sak...
... measures that do not cap-
ture how managers determine organizational risk
levels. The image of
the manager as a solitary decision maker may be accurate for some or-
ganizational decisions, but managers ... showed a somewhat higher propensity to risk
than non -managers have, the results suggest that managers acting as man-
agers take more risks than manager
s acting as individuals...
... Organizational Learning from Performance Feedback
aspiration levels. There is already some evidence that a combination of
performance feedback and managerial cognition theory can give aspi-
ration ... performance can make
performance feedback dysfunctional. This advice goes against the in-
stincts of managers who want frequent performance feedback, and it is
also against rational notions...
... 175
make claims on what kind of goal managers will have. Still, it derives
much of its relevance for management practice from the fact that man-
agers have been paying attention to performance measures ... inves-
tigation once they are satisfied with the basic findings, and performance
feedback research could potentially end up as a sprawling affair that seeks
to inform a wide range of...