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Environmental sustainability in and of organizations

Dilchert, S., & Ones, D. S.
Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 5, 509-517.
(2012)

We note that the current intellectual, social, and economic milieu has led to general acceptance of environmental sustainability as one of the most important issues of our time. Environmental sustainability is a big idea, and it is in the air (Gladwell, 2008). Few industrialorganizational (IO) psychologists disagree. However, there are many different ideas on the what, where, and how our field can contribute. We review facilitators, drivers, and barriers to environmental sustainability of organizations. We also discuss the ways in which cultural and international research can strengthen sustainability research and practice. In order to make a meaningful difference and positive environmental impact, IO psychologists and HR practitioners need to focus on their unique skills and influence organizational environmental sustainability by designing and shaping work, workplaces, and workforces.

Measuring and improving environmental sustainability

Dilchert, S., & Ones, D. S.
In S. E. Jackson, D. S. Ones, & S. Dilchert (Eds.),
Managing human resources for environmental sustainability (pp. 187-221).
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Wiley.
(2012)

A thorough understanding of how organizational activities can be managed in environmentally sustainable ways requires input from organizational and behavioral scholars and practitioners and needs to be based on individual and organizational level measurement. At the individual level, the degree to which employees contribute to or detract from environmental sustainability can be observed, measured, and influenced. At the organizational level, corporate environmental performance can be conceptualized and measured to help manage the triple bottom-line (Elkington, 1998, Savitz & Weber, 2006). The goal of this chapter is to highlight some of the ways that environmental sustainability has been conceptualized and measured at both levels, review approaches to positively impact environmental sustainability at the individual level, and summarize important variables that relate to it at the organizational level. It is hoped that this review will increase the knowledge base on and understanding of those issues, and that it will aid industrial and organizational psychologists in their efforts to improve environmental sustainability in organizations and their workforces.

Employee green behaviors

Ones, D. S., & Dilchert, S. (2012).  
In S. E. Jackson, D. S. Ones, & S. Dilchert (Eds.),
Managing human resources for environmental sustainability (pp. 85-116).
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Wiley.
(2012)

The overall objective of this chapter is to describe individual variability in employee behaviors that relate to environmental sustainability work settings. To achieve this goal, we first define a broad category of behavior that we have come to refer to as employee green behavior. Second, we then detail a taxonomy of employee green behaviors that is intended to describe the content of employee green behavior categories and define a construct of individual level environmental sustainability in work settings. Third, ‘we address the connections between employee green behaviors and model of individual level performance. Fourth, we offer guidance on how the framework presented in this chapter can be used in human resources management practice and research applications. We conclude by addressing construct validity questions about the model of employee green behaviors.

Environmental sustainability and organization sensing at Procter & Gamble

Biga, A., Dilchert, S., McCance, A. S., Gibby, R. E., Oudersluys, A. D.
In S. E. Jackson, D. S. Ones, & S. Dilchert (Eds.),
Managing human resources for environmental sustainability (pp. 362-374).
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Wiley.
(2012)

This case study provides a brief overview of P&G’s sustainability efforts in general and illustrates how the company uses organizational surveys as a pulse check on employee engagement and its link to environmental sustainability behaviors in the workplace.

A review of citizenship and counterproductive behaviors in organizational decision-making

Hoffman, B. J., & Dilchert, S.
In N. Schmitt (Ed.),
Oxford handbook of personnel assessment and selection (pp. 543–569).
New York: Oxford University Press.
(2012)

This chapter provides an analysis of historical trends underlying the measurement of two alternative work criterion variables: organizational citizenship and counterproductive work behaviors. Conceptual frameworks and taxonomic models are reviewed, and measurement of the two constructs in research and applied settings is discussed. The empirical evidence that links individual differences predictors and assessment tools to citizenship and counterproductivity is discussed with a focus on employee selection.

Cognitive abilities

Ones, D. S., Dilchert, S., & Viswesvaran, C.
In N. Schmitt (Ed.),
Oxford handbook of personnel assessment and selection (pp. 179-224). New York: Oxford University Press.
(2012)

This chapter describes measures of cognitive ability (general mental ability and specific abilities) and examines their usefulness for personnel selection. An overview of definitional and theoretical issues as they apply to use of such measures in personnel decision making is provided first. Then, issues of reliability of measures are discussed, again with particular emphasis on implications for personnel selection (e.g., impact on rank order of candidates when using different measures). Next, validities of cognitive ability tests are summarized for the following criteria: overall job performance, task performance, contextual performance, counterproductive work behaviors, leadership, creativity and innovation, voluntary turnover, job satisfaction, and career success. The authors address the nature of predictor-criterion relationships (e.g., usefulness of general versus specific abilities, criterion dynamicity, assumption of linearity) by discussing both recent large-scale evidence in normal samples and among the highly gifted. Finally, the extent to which cognitive ability is captured in tools other than standardized tests is summarized, enabling an evaluation of other selection assessments as substitutes and/or supplements to standardized cognitive ability tests.

Cross-cultural generalization: Using meta-analysis to test hypotheses about cultural variability

Ones, D. S., Dilchert, S., Deller, J., Albrecht, A.-G., Duehr, E. E., & Paulus, F. M.
In A. M. Ryan, F. T. L. Leong, & F. L. Oswald (Eds.),
Conducting multinational research projects in organizational psychology: Challenges and opportunities (pp. 91-122).
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
(2012)

When differences are observed across samples in cross-cultural research, true cultural differences (and sample representativeness) are not the only explanations that ought to be considered. A main thesis of this chapter is that when differences are observed, findings can be due to chance (sampling error) as well as other statistical artifacts (see Hunter & Schmidt, 2004). Testing whether cross-cultural variability in findings is due to real effects of culture or such statistical artifacts is an important step that is essential in cross-cultural research. Addressing the biasing influences of statistical artifacts may help reveal cross-cultural universals. The magnitude of cultural variation in results can be empirically examined using approaches of psychometric meta-analysis. A major contribution that meta-analytic techniques can make to cross-cultural research is to enable researchers to test the cross-cultural generalizability of relationships. In the remainder of this chapter, we review, illustrate, and discuss three unique applications of meta-analysis to examine cross-cultural effects. First, we review and discuss pooling findings across intracultural studies to examine questions of cross-cultural generalizability. Second, we illustrate the value of applying meta-analysis to carefully conducted intercultural studies to examine the same question. Third, we demonstrate the use of meta-analysis to examine transcultural variability using primary data collected from different cultural settings. For each type of application, we offer a brief background, review and present illustrative findings, and discuss contributions and potential limitations.

Leben und Arbeiten im Ausland – psychologische Faktoren und Erfolg bei internationalen beruflichen Entsendungen

[Living and working abroad – psychological factors and success in international occupational decisions]
Deller, J., Albrecht, A-G., Ones, D. S., Dilchert, S., & Paulus, F. M.
Berlin Medical, 10, 5-7.
(2012)

In den vergangenen Jahren haben wir Projekt iGOES (international Generalizability of Expatriate Success Factors) das mit bislang über 2.300 persönlich interviewten Auslandsmitarbeitern weltweit größte interkulturelle wirtschaftspsychologisch diagnostische Forschungsprojekt durchgeführt. Dieser Beitrag schildert in Anlehnung an Deller und Albrecht [l] das Projekt in seinen Grundzügen und berichtet zusätzlich ausgewählte Ergebnisse zur Bedeutung der Persönlichkeitsdimension „Offenheit” für Anpassung als eine Perspektive des Erfolges von Auslandseinsätzen.

Application of preventive strategies

Dilchert, S., & Ones, D. S.
In M. Ziegler, C. MacCann, & R. D. Roberts, (Eds.)
New perspectives on faking in personality assessments (pp. 177-200).
New York: Oxford University Press.
(2011)

This chapter addresses issues surrounding strategies to identify and reduce socially desirable responding, impression management, and faking in applied assessment settings. Strategies are discussed in terms of a framework with four categories based on purpose (identification or prevention) and level (scale/test or person). Three major questions are considered: Which forms do the strategies take (what are recommendations for use in applied assessment practice)? To what degree do test users rely on such strategies in identifying or preventing response distortion (what are the prevalence rates)? What is the effectiveness of each strategy in applied settings (does it lead to the successful identification or prevention of faking under realistic assessment conditions)? The chapter concludes that even those strategies that have received the most research attention so far do not present effective solutions in applied assessment settings.

Human resource responsibilities: Frequent flyer radiation exposure

Barish, R. J., & Dilchert, S.
Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 22, 361-369.
(2010)

At the high altitudes that are the domain of commercial airliners, passengers are exposed to cosmic radiation at an intensity that is hundreds of times greater than at ground level. Such radiation exposure represents a risk for individuals who fly frequently as part of their job. Business travelers who fly at least 85,000 miles (137,000 km) per year are likely to receive radiation exposures that exceed the regulatory limit established for members of the general public exposed by proximity to medical or industrial radiation facilities. Their exposures will not, however, exceed the higher level allowed for radiation workers. Human resource managers need to identify those employees who fly frequently on company business or due to a company-initiated relocation (e.g., expatriate assignment), classify them as radiation workers, and ensure compliance with the regulatory requirements for providing risk education and exposure assessment for such workers. Failure to do so may incur potential liability for radiation-related health problems, particularly in the case of pregnant employees where the embryo or fetus is also at risk.