NCJ Number
95873
Journal
Academy of Management Journal Volume: 22 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1979) Pages: 810-815
Date Published
1979
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This study tests hypotheses about the relative grievance rates of work groups classified as apathetic, erratic, strategic, and conservative based on their work characteristics.
Abstract
This is a test of Leonard Sayles's hypothesis concerning technology and the grievance rates of work groups. Apathetic groups are hypothesized to have the lowest level of grievance activity and strategic groups the highest level. Erratic and conservative groups are predicted to have intermediate grievance rates. Sayles noted that each pattern of behavior was associated with a distinct technology. To test these hypotheses, 53 work groups in a manufacturing plant were classified based on the technologies employed. The plant, located in a large metropolitan area, is part of a major corporation. The data are for 1975, the middle year of a 3-year agreement. Grievance rates were calculated for each of the groups. The results provide some support for the hypotheses. First, the mean for the strategic groups is significantly higher than the mean for each of the other groups. Second, the means for the erratic and conservative groups, as hypothesized, did not differ significantly. However, differences in the means of the apathetic, erratic, and conservative groups did not differ significantly. If these results are confirmed by subsequent studies, employers will need to consider the impact of technology and grievance rates will need to be carefully analyzed. Five references are listed.