Date of Award

1986

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Abstract

Statement of the Problem. This study is a conceptual replication of Yukl and van Fleet's (1982) new critical incident method and managerial taxonomy. The study is also an exploratory study of the behaviors of the I.R. manager perceived to be critical to effectiveness by line managers, I.R. managers, and union reps.;Method. Critical incidents of perceived effective behavior by I.R. managers and data on respondents' function, level, and perceptions of the I.R. climate in their bargaining situation were collected by self-administered questionnaire from 365 respondents in 101 bargaining situations in Canada during the summer and fall of 1985. The survey was of private sector companies, excluding those in the construction industry, with bargaining situations of 500 or more employees. The critical incidents were coded into the 19 categories of the managerial behavior taxonomy by three raters. Reliable codes were cross-classified with variables representing respondents' function and level, task (negotiation, administration) on which the I.R. manager was engaged, perceived effectiveness of the behavior, and measures of perceived I.R. climate in the respondents' bargaining situation. Results for I.R. managers were compared with Yukl and van Fleet's results for military leaders.;Results. Significant differences were found in the patterns of I.R. managers' behaviors for respondents' function (line and I.R. manager, union rep), managerial function controlling for level, level controlling for managerial function, task, effectiveness, effectiveness controlling for administration task, union-management relations, and productivity and product quality of unionized employees. The nature of the differences in distributions was explored by examining cell contributions to overall chi-square and by conducting one and two sample Z tests of proportions. The behavior patterns for I.R. managers and military leaders were significantly different. Perceptions of the I.R. climate in the bargaining situation were found to differ significantly with respondents' function.;Conclusions. The study concludes with implications for management practice, theory and research, and suggestions for further research.

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