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(2011)ThesisEmotional labour is the process of regulating both inward feelings and outward expressions for the purpose of achieving work goals (Grandey, 2000). Past research shows that the performance of emotional labour to produce positive emotional displays is associated with both positive and negative outcomes for the organisation and the employees who produce the emotional display (Bono & Vey, 2005). However, some employees must engage in negative emotional labour which involves the regulation of feelings and expressions in order to display negative emotions for the purposes of carrying out work duties. This thesis contributes to the wider body of emotional labour research by investigating the antecedents, strategies and consequences of negative emotional labour. Two studies are reported. Study 1 uses an experimental design and draws upon recent developments on the interpersonal effects of anger to examine whether the expression of negative affect by employees and the intensity with which it is expressed lead to greater compliance to requests made. Results demonstrate that the expression of negative affect, regardless of its intensity, lead to increased compliance with employee requests. Study 2 extends the findings of the first study by examining the antecedents, deep and surface acting strategies, and consequences of expressing negative affect in a field study of debt collectors. Results show that employees engage in negative emotional labour when they perceive the negative emotional display rules of their organisation. In addition, the emotional labour strategy used by employees has an influence on the outcomes of emotional labour. Deep acting results in increased employee performance while surface acting leads to detrimental outcomes such as emotional exhaustion and acts of workplace deviance. Implications for research, practice and future directions are discussed.
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(2011)ThesisThe obesity epidemic persists, despite countless strategic efforts made to counter it. The aim of my research was to discover if there is a new approach to be taken to contain the obesity epidemic. In the final chapter of this thesis, I present a study design intended to test the efficacy of a novel and scalable obesity intervention strategy. In Chapter 1, which provides detail about the obesity problem I am addressing, I point out that the obesity epidemic is contributed to in two (related) ways: an increasing body mass index (BMI) amongst the present population and an increased risk that high BMI will affect future generations. This observation, although seemingly obvious, is rarely pointed out, and is the first indication that the causality of the obesity epidemic is not well understood. I suggest that there is a prevalent causal understanding of the obesity epidemic, which fails to discern causes of obesity from causes of the obesity epidemic and, as a result, accurately depicts neither. I call this view, modelled in Chapter 2, The Conventional View. Two additional models are presented, which address the weaknesses of The Conventional View. In Chapter 3 I argue that if my updated causal model of the obesity epidemic, An Updated View, is more accurate than The Conventional View the goals of most current obesity interventions are suboptimal. This argument follows being able to show that the goals of current obesity intervention strategies are based on The Conventional View. The study design presented in the final chapter is the main contribution of this thesis. An obesity intervention strategy delivered to pregnant women targets causal factors prominent in An Updated View. There are two main questions addressed by the hypotheses in this study. Firstly, will the treatment enable glucose control? And then, will improved glucose control translate into a reduced risk of obesity for women (the present population) and their children (future generations)? In other words, will the intervention reduce the obesity epidemic?
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(2011)ThesisThis study reviews the literature on performance management systems, and notes the negative consequences of the prevalence of measurement as a component within the performance management process. This study then describes how insufficient knowledge of performance management systems can encourage inappropriate behaviour among employees. These inappropriate behaviours may contribute to the underutilisation of performance measurement and control systems with consequences for organisational outcomes. The focus is specifically aimed at perceptions of performance management systems within the finance industry, as observed in a sample of industry participants from Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, China and Singapore. In spite of the importance of performance management systems to overall organisational performance in knowledge-intensive industries, this study found that only around half of the sample of finance employees have a very good understanding of their key performance indicators (KPIs), while a very small proportion of employees indicated that they “just know what they need to know”. In addition, the majority of finance employees in this sample acknowledged that they apply the knowledge learned and used in their previous jobs in their current jobs. With respect to research implications, a framework is proposed, expanded from Holton's (1996) factors affecting the transfer of knowledge (incorporating motivation, climate, and design). Based on the findings in this study, Holton's model is extended to include the component of individual evaluation. This component, if used appropriately, may assist in the process of aligning employees’ perceptions with the requirements of performance management systems. This study concludes with a discussion of the broad implications of a lack of employee understanding of performance management systems for knowledge management, employee training and overall organisational performance.