Capital psicológico, desempeño contextual y apoyo social del trabajo en salud primaria / Psychological capital, contextual performance, and social support at work in primary health

Este estudio analizó la relación entre el capital psicológico y el desempeño contextual, proponiéndose un modelo de moderación que incluyó el apoyo social del trabajo. La muestra fue de 128 trabajadores de atención primaria de salud (82% mujeres, M = 42.8 años). Los resultados apoyan parcialmente la relación entre capital psicológico y desempeño contextual, existiendo diferencias en los resultados según la medida de desempeño; sin embargo, el análisis de regresión lineal confirma que el capital psicológico y la resiliencia predicen el desempeño contextual. La evidencia encontrada no apoya la relación entre desempeño contextual y apoyo social del trabajo y esta última no actúa como variable moderadora en el modelo propuesto para explicar la relación entre capital psicológico y desempeño contextual

This study analyzed the relationship between psychological capital and contextual performance, proposing a model of moderation that includes social support at work. The sample consisted of 128 primary health care workers (82% women, M = 42.8 years). The results support partially the relationship between the psychological capital and contextual performance variables, with differences in the results according to the measure of performance; however, linear regression analysis confirms that psychological capital and resilience predict contextual performance. The evidence found does not support the relationship between contextual performance and social support at work, and this last variable does not act as a moderating variable in the proposed model for the relationship between psychological capital and contextual performance

Spanish-Language Adaptation of Morgeson and Humphrey's Work Design Questionnaire (WDQ).

Since work organizations became the subject of scientific research, how to operationalize and measure dimensions of work design has been an issue, mainly due to concerns about internal consistency and factor structure. In response, Morgeson and Humphrey (2006) built the Work Design Questionnaire -WDQ-, an instrument that identifies and measures these dimensions in different work and organizational contexts. This paper presents the instruent's adaptation into Spanish using reliability and validity analysis and drawing on a sample of 1035 Spanish workers who hold various jobs in an array of occupational categories. The total instrument's internal consistency was Cronbach's alpha of .92 and the various scales' reliability ranged from .70 to .96, except for three dimensions. There was initially a difference in the comparative fit of the two versions' factor structures, but the model with 21 work characteristics (motivational -task and knowledge-, social, and work context) showed the highest goodness of fit of the various models tested, confirming previous results from the U.S. version as well as adaptations into other languages and contexts. CFA results indicated goodness of fit of factor configurations corresponding to each of the four major categories of work characteristics, with CFI and TLI around .90, as well as SRMR and RMSEA below .08. Thus it brings to the table a reliable, valid measure of work design with clear potential applications in research as well as professional practice, applications that could improve working conditions, boost productivity, and generate more personal and professional development opportunities for workers.

Spanish-language adaptation of Morgeson and Humphrey’s Work Design Questionnaire (WDQ)

Since work organizations became the subject of scientific research, how to operationalize and measure dimensions of work design has been an issue, mainly due to concerns about internal consistency and factor structure. In response, Morgeson and Humphrey (2006) built the Work Design Questionnaire -WDQ-, an instrument that identifies and measures these dimensions in different work and organizational contexts. This paper presents the instruent’s adaptation into Spanish using reliability and validity analysis and drawing on a sample of 1035 Spanish workers who hold various jobs in an array of occupational categories. The total instrument’s internal consistency was Cronbach’s alpha of .92 and the various scales’ reliability ranged from .70 to .96, except for three dimensions. There was initially a difference in the comparative fit of the two versions’ factor structures, but the model with 21 work characteristics (motivational -task and knowledge-, social, and work context) showed the highest goodness of fit of the various models tested, confirming previous results from the U.S. version as well as adaptations into other languages and contexts. CFA results indicated goodness of fit of factor configurations corresponding to each of the four major categories of work characteristics, with CFI and TLI around .90, as well as SRMR and RMSEA below .08. Thus it brings to the table a reliable, valid measure of work design with clear potential applications in research as well as professional practice, applications that could improve working conditions, boost productivity, and generate more personal and professional development opportunities for workers (AU)

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El papel moderador de la autoeficacia ocupacional entre la satisfacción y la irritación laboral / Occupational Self-Efficacy as a Moderator between Job Satisfaction and Irritation at Work

El presente artículo pretende aportar evidencia empírica sobre el posible rol modulador que la expectativa de autoeficacia ocupacional ejerce sobre la satisfacción laboral y la irritación laboral. El estudio se llevó a cabo con una muestra multi-ocupacional de 386 sujetos, 47.1% mujeres y 52.9% hombres, con una media de edad de 38 años (d.t. 12.03), todos ellos en activo a la hora de rellenar los siguientes cuestionarios: La Escala de irritación, el Índice descriptivo del trabajo y la Escala de autoeficacia ocupacional. Se llevaron a cabo análisis de correlaciones, análisis de varianza y análisis de regresión múltiple. Los resultados obtenidos mediante análisis de correlaciones, confirmaron una relación positiva entre autoeficacia ocupacional y satisfacción laboral (en las dimensiones trabajo en sí mismo, supervisión y promoción p < 0.01) y una relación negativa entre irritación emocional y autoeficacia ocupacional (p < 0.01). Además se comprobó, mediante el análisis de varianza y el análisis de regresión, que entre los sujetos con menor satisfacción laboral, aquellos con mayor autoeficacia mostraban menores niveles de estrés, lo cual confirma el papel modulador de la autoeficacia sobre las experiencias de estrés laboral. Por tanto, una conclusión o implicación importante de los resultados es la confirmación de la autoeficacia ocupacional como un moderador relevante entre la satisfacción y la experiencia de irritación laboral.

The present article tries to gather empirical evidence for the moderating role of occupational self-efficacy beliefs between job satisfaction and specific responses to stress such as irritation at work. A multi-occupational sample of 386 subjects participated in this study, 47.1% women and 52.9% men. The mean age was 38 years old (s.d. 12.03), all of them in an active situation when filling in the following questionnaires: The Irritation Scale, the Job Descriptive Index, and the Occupational Self-Efficacy Scale. Correlation analyses, analyses of variance and regression analyses were carried through. Results obtained through correlation analyses confirmed a positive relation between occupational self-efficacy and job satisfaction (dimensions work itself, supervision, and promotion, p < 0.01), and a negative relation between emotional irritation and occupational self-efficacy (p < 0.01). Besides, analyses of variance and regression analyses confirmed that among the subjects with lower levels of job satisfaction, those with higher self-efficacy showed lower levels of stress, thus, confirming the moderating role of occupational self-efficacy on work stress experience. Therefore, an important conclusion or implication of the results is the confirmation of the occupational self-efficacy as a moderator between the satisfaction and the experience of irritation at work.

[Effect of ingroup membership on organizational meta-representation]. / El efecto del grupo de pertenencia en la metarepresentación de la organización.

The present study considers the importance of analyzing what very powerful or influential people think about their employees. We assumed that belonging to a specific category has a differential effect on the perception of others' thoughts in the organization ("meta-representation"). Therefore, experts in organization and human resources from diverse organizations and institutions assessed seven dimensions which structure the organizational image (context, structure, organizational processes, working climate, culture, satisfaction and efficacy). The results showed that belonging to a group (managers or leaders, academicians, consultants, technicians or employees' representatives) modulated the meta-representation, as the experts' opinion about what they think that the employees consider important was related to their group. This was specifically the case for the managers' and leaders' representations, which differed from the other groups and especially from that of the technicians and employees' representatives. The implications of the present findings are discussed.

El efecto del grupo de pertenencia en la metarrepresentación de la organización / Effect of ingroup membership on organizational meta-representation

En el presente estudio se plantea la relevancia de conocer cuál es la representación de quienes ostentan un rol de poder o experto respecto a la imagen que tienen los trabajadores de su organización. Se propone que la pertenencia a un determinado grupo de expertos ejerce un efecto diferencial sobre la representación de esta imagen (metarrepresentación). Para ello, expertos en Organización y Recursos Humanos pertenecientes a diversas organizaciones e instituciones evaluaron siete dimensiones que estructuran la imagen organizacional (contexto, estructura, procesos organizacionales, clima, cultura, satisfacción y eficacia). Los resultados obtenidos sugieren que la pertenencia a una categoría de experto (directivos o mandos, académicos, consultores, técnicos o representantes de los trabajadores) modulaba la metarrepresentación. Se encontró una relación entre la opinión de los expertos sobre la imagen que tienen los trabajadores de su organización con su grupo de pertenencia. Específicamente, la representación de los directivos difería del resto de representaciones estudiadas, especialmente respecto a los grupos de técnicos y representantes de los trabajadores. Se discuten las implicaciones de los resultados (AU)

The present study considers the importance of analyzing what very powerful or influential people think about their employees. We assumed that belonging to a specific category has a differential effect on the perception of others’ thoughts in the organization («meta-representation»). Therefore, experts in organization and human resources from diverse organizations and institutions assessed seven dimensions which structure the organizational image (context, structure, organizational processes, working climate, culture, satisfaction and efficacy). The results showed that belonging to a group (managers or leaders, academicians, consultants, technicians or employees’ representatives) modulated the meta-representation, as the experts’ opinion about what they think that the employees consider important was related to their group. This was specifically the case for the managers’ and leaders’ representations, which differed from the other groups and especially from that of the technicians and employees’ representatives. The implications of the present findings are discussed (AU)

[Basic dimensions of work design: new inputs to functional flexibility]. / Dimensiones básicas en el diseño del trabajo: nuevos aportes a la flexibilidad funcional.

Although a lot of research has been developed during the last century in the field of human work design, the results seem to be unsatisfactory. Nowadays, there is renewed interest in this field but it is not producing any new results. This is the main reason why, in our investigation, we have tried to determine the real variables that truly affect the human work design. We have carried out two empirical researches involving 660 and 310 companies, obtaining from both exactly the same results, four factors that confirm the conclusions reached in previous research: demand-adaptation, flexibility-polyvalence, improvement-autonomy and conciliation-participation. We can add that these factors are independent from the environment and the type of technology used by the companies, which does not occur if the size of the enterprise is taken into account.

Dimensiones básicas en el diseño del trabajo: nuevos aportes a la flexibilidad funcional / Basic dimensions of work design: New inputs to functional flexibility

El diseño del trabajo humano ha sido objeto de numerosas investigaciones a lo largo del siglo XX, pero los resultados obtenidos distan mucho de ser satisfactorios. En los últimos años se está produciendo un renovado interés que está dando lugar a planteamientos poco innovadores. En esta investigación hemos tratado de ir al núcleo del problema preguntándonos por cuáles son las dimensiones básicas a lo largo de los cuales varía el diseño del trabajo. En dos estudios empíricos en los que han participado 660 y 310 empresas hemos obtenido prácticamente los mismos resultados: cuatro factores o dimensiones básicas (demanda-adaptación, flexibilidad-polivalencia, mejora-autonomía y conciliación-participación) que vienen a ratificar los resultados obtenidos en investigaciones previas. Podemos añadir que las dimensiones del diseño son independientes del entorno de la organización y del tipo de tecnología utilizada, cosa que no ocurre si tomamos en cuenta el tamaño de la organización

Although a lot of research has been developed during the last century in the field of human work design, the results seem to be unsatisfactory. Nowadays, there is renewed interest in this field but it is not producing any new results. This is the main reason why, in our investigation, we have tried to determine the real variables that truly affect the human work design. We have carried out two empirical researches involving 660 and 310 companies, obtaining from both exactly the same results, four factors that confirm the conclusions reached in previous research: demand-adaptation, flexibility-polyvalence, improvement-autonomy and conciliation-participation. We can add that these factors are independent from the environment and the type of technology used by the companies, which does not occur if the size of the enterprise is taken into account

Validación de una escala de niveles y condiciones de aprendizaje organizacional / Validation of a scale of levels and conditions of organizational learning

El aprendizaje organizacional ha sido estudiado desde la perspectiva de niveles de aprendizaje: individual, grupal y organizacional, así como desde la perspectiva de las condiciones para que éste se produzca. Se validó un instrumento que propuso seis dimensiones; tres de ellas son los niveles individual, grupal y organizacional, y tres las condiciones: cultura del aprendizaje organizacional, formación y transmisión de cinco niveles de respuesta. Los participantes fueron 845 funcionarios de una entidad pública. A partir de los resultados se encuentra apoyo para los tres niveles de aprendizaje y dos de las condiciones propuestas: cultura del aprendizaje organizacional y formación. Adicionalmente, se identifica la condición llamada claridad estratégica.

Organizational learning has been studied from the perspective of levels of learning: individual, group and organizational, as well as from the needed conditions for learning in order to be produced. An instrument of six dimensions was validated, three of them levels: individual, group and organizational, and three of them conditions: culture of organizational learning, training and transmission of information. Participants were 845 workers of a public institution. From results support was found for the three levels of learning and for two conditions: culture of organizationallearning and training. Additionally a condition called strategic clarity was identified.

Spanish firms flexibility / Flexibilidad en las empresas españolas: combinando aspectos cuantitativos y cualitativos

As a result of the pressure to succeed in global markets and the accelerating pace of change in the business environment, organizational flexibility has become an unavoidable issue. We carried out a descriptive study covering 660 firms based in Spain with the objective of finding out how they deal with and use the different facets of organizational flexibility, in particular qualitative (functional) and quantitative (temporal) flexibility. Our results provide favourable evidence for the possibility of combining temporal and functional flexibility. We discuss these results with reference to the «core-periphery» model, which interrelates both kinds of flexibility. Based on these results, we also make three specific propositions concerning the manner in which both kinds of flexibility may be made compatible, and impacts on temporary workers and the development of the labour market in the next years

Las presiones por mantener ventajas competitivas en mercados globales y las consecuencias del acelerado ritmo de cambio que caracteriza el entorno de nuestras organizaciones han convertido la flexibilidad organizacional en un aspecto de máxima relevancia. Con el objetivo de aclarar cómo las empresas españolas están combinando la flexibilidad cualitativa (funcional) con la flexibilidad cuantitativa (temporal) llevamos a cabo un estudio descriptivo con 660 empresas que operan en España. Los resultados aportan evidencia favorable respecto a la posibilidad de combinar diferentes facetas de la flexibilidad (temporal y funcional). Discutiremos los resultados obtenidos con relación al modelo «centro-periferia» que interrelaciona ambos tipos de flexibilidad. Con base en los resultados realizamos también tres proposiciones específicas relativas a la forma en que ambos tipos de flexibilidad puede compatibilizarse, sobre el impacto que tendrán sobre los trabajadores temporales y sobre el desarrollo del mercado de trabajo en años venideros

Organizations as meaning systems: time for clarity / La organización como sistema de significados

As a response to certain chronic weaknesses in organizational science, we propose a general theoretical alternative that will permit us to redefine our conception of organizations in terms of meaning systems. We discuss the theoretical underpinnings and the basic definitions involved in this approach, identifying the components of organizations and the relationships between them from a representational point of view. Finally, we also consider some implications of this approach for a series of relevant topics in the study of organizations (AU)

Como respuesta a determinadas deficiencias crónicas en la ciencia organizacional, proponemos una alternativa teórica que nos ofrezca una oportunidad para redefinir nuestra concepción de las organizaciones en términos de sistemas de significados. En el presente artículo estableceremos los antecedentes y las definiciones implicadas en esta aproximación e identificaremos desde un punto de vista representacional los componentes de dicho sistema y sus interrelaciones. Finalmente, consideraremos las implicaciones de esta aproximación para diferentes tópicos relevantes en el estudio de las organizaciones (AU)

Diseño de organizaciones como proceso simbólico / Organizational design as symbolic process

El presente artículo plantea las líneas esenciales de una nueva perspectiva para la comprensión, explicación e intervención en diseño organizacional. Surge como alternativa a la visión tradicional del diseño como arquitectura para posicionarse en una concepción como proceso continuo de naturaleza simbólica. El trabajo empírico desarrollado constituye una aproximación, desde un punto de vista representacional, a aquellos parámetros de diseño organizacional que se estiman más necesarios para la satisfacción de las distintas áreas de eficacia organizacional. Los resultados apuntan la necesidad de diseños organizacionales articulados en torno a la actuación integrada y coordinada de los diferentes componentes de la organización y a las condiciones que maximicen la flexibilidad. La utilidad del presente trabajo radica en hacer visible las creencias causales subyacentes y el sustrato simbólico que modulan los resultados finales de los procesos de diseño organizacional (AU)

This article presents the essential lines of a new perspective for the comprehension, explanation and intervention in organizational design. It arises as an alternative answer to the traditional vision of the organizational design as architecture, abounding in its conception as a symbolic ongoing process. The empirical work developed involves an approach, from a representational point of view, to those organizational design parameters deemed more necessary for the satisfaction of the different areas of organizational effectiveness. The results shows the need of designs articulated around the integrated and coordinated action of the different organizational components, and to the conditions that maximize flexibility. The utility of the present work is based on making visible the causal undelying beliefs and the symbolic substract, which modulate the final results of the organizational design processes (AU)

Procesos estratégicos y estructura organizacional: implicaciones para el rendimiento / Strategy-making process and organizational structure: implications to performance

En este artículo se analizan las relaciones entre estructura organizacional y procesos estratégicos como dos elementos interdependientes que deben completarse para conseguir un alto rendimiento empresarial. Los resultados obtenidos a partir de datos de una muestra de 100 empresas de tamaño pequeño, mediano y grande muestran que la integración formal se relaciona con racionalidad e interacción en todos sus aspectos (análisis de decisiones, orientación hacia el futuro, precisión, exploración del entorno y consenso y negociación en las decisiones). La complejidad estructural presenta relaciones significativas con racionalidad pero no con interacción y asertividad. La descentralización no presenta relaciones significativas con procesos estratégicos (racionalidad, interacción y asertividad). Las empresas con mayor rendimiento fueron significativamente superiores a las empresas de bajo rendimiento en aspectos tales como análisis, orientación hacia el futuro, explicitación de la estrategia, exploración del entorno, consenso, negociación, proactividad y riesgo. Los resultados permiten afirmar que el ajuste procesos estratégicos - estructura organizacional contribuye de modo claro a un mayor rendimiento de las empresas. (AU)

This study analyzes the relationship between structure and strategy-making process as two highly interdependent components that must be complementary to ensure good performance. The empirical analysis with a sample of 100 small, medium and large-sized firms showed that formal integration were related to the rationality and interaction with their all aspects (analysis, future orientation, explicitness of strategy, scanning of environment and consensus and bargaining decision making). Structural complexity was related to rationality, but no with interaction and assertiveness. Descentralization had no significative associations with strategy-making. The succesful business were significative higher than unsuccesful business in analysis, future orientation, explicitness of strategy, scanning of environment, consensus, bargaining, proactiveness and risk taking. It is plain that fit strategy-making and structure contribute the most performance in the firms (AU)