Sharon is an ARC Laureate Fellow, and a Professor within Management and Organisations at the UWA Business School, University of Western Australia. Address: Management and Organisations UWA Business School University of Western Australia 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009
A growing body of evidence has linked proactivity at work to positive outcomes. Yet little resear... more A growing body of evidence has linked proactivity at work to positive outcomes. Yet little research to date has investigated whether employees’ proactive behavior in organizations can be facilitated through training and development. Nor has research considered which variables shape employees’ responses to such interventions. We investigate the effects on proactivity of two theoretically distinct training and development interventions in a randomized field experiment with police officers and police support staff (N = 112). We hypothesized that a problemfocused intervention, which made discrepancies between the status quo and the ideal present more salient, would lead to increases in individual task proactivity, whereas a vision-focused intervention, which made discrepancies between the status quo and an ideal future more salient, would increase organization member proactivity. Intervention effects were moderated by role overload and future orientation, respectively. Only individuals with high levels of role overload increased their individual task proactivity as a result of the problem-focused intervention, and only individuals high in future orientation increased their organization member proactivity as a result of the vision-focused intervention. Our study integrates different cybernetic perspectives on how proactivity is motivated and provides novel insights into moderators of interventions designed to capture these different mechanisms. From a practical perspective, our study supports organizations seeking to implement training and development interventions and helps them to determine who might benefit most from interventions.
ABSTRACT Organizational learning, along with a framework for diversity, is an effective approach ... more ABSTRACT Organizational learning, along with a framework for diversity, is an effective approach for campuses seeking sustained institutional change with regard to diversity.
The aim of this systematic review was to examine studies that have investigated sustaining hope d... more The aim of this systematic review was to examine studies that have investigated sustaining hope during prognostic and end-of-life issues discussions with terminally ill patients and their families. A comprehensive search of databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) and handsearching, from 1985 to June 2006, identified 27 studies. This review suggests that the issues surrounding hope in this context are complex. Despite the lack of unanimity among researchers regarding the definition of hope, findings suggest that balancing hope with honesty is an important skill for health professionals (HPs). Many patients seem to be able to maintain a sense of hope despite acknowledging the terminal nature of their illness. Patients and caregivers mostly preferred honest and accurate information, provided with empathy and understanding. Many different sources of hope were identified in this context in broad aspects of life, not just the medical situation. HPs need to recognize this spectrum of hope and appreciate that patients may simultaneously hope for 'cure' while acknowledging the terminal nature of their illness. HPs may help patients to cope with their terminal prognosis by exploring and fostering realistic forms of hope that are meaningful for the particular patient and their family.
A growing body of evidence has linked proactivity at work to positive outcomes. Yet little resear... more A growing body of evidence has linked proactivity at work to positive outcomes. Yet little research to date has investigated whether employees’ proactive behavior in organizations can be facilitated through training and development. Nor has research considered which variables shape employees’ responses to such interventions. We investigate the effects on proactivity of two theoretically distinct training and development interventions in a randomized field experiment with police officers and police support staff (N = 112). We hypothesized that a problemfocused intervention, which made discrepancies between the status quo and the ideal present more salient, would lead to increases in individual task proactivity, whereas a vision-focused intervention, which made discrepancies between the status quo and an ideal future more salient, would increase organization member proactivity. Intervention effects were moderated by role overload and future orientation, respectively. Only individuals with high levels of role overload increased their individual task proactivity as a result of the problem-focused intervention, and only individuals high in future orientation increased their organization member proactivity as a result of the vision-focused intervention. Our study integrates different cybernetic perspectives on how proactivity is motivated and provides novel insights into moderators of interventions designed to capture these different mechanisms. From a practical perspective, our study supports organizations seeking to implement training and development interventions and helps them to determine who might benefit most from interventions.
ABSTRACT Organizational learning, along with a framework for diversity, is an effective approach ... more ABSTRACT Organizational learning, along with a framework for diversity, is an effective approach for campuses seeking sustained institutional change with regard to diversity.
The aim of this systematic review was to examine studies that have investigated sustaining hope d... more The aim of this systematic review was to examine studies that have investigated sustaining hope during prognostic and end-of-life issues discussions with terminally ill patients and their families. A comprehensive search of databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) and handsearching, from 1985 to June 2006, identified 27 studies. This review suggests that the issues surrounding hope in this context are complex. Despite the lack of unanimity among researchers regarding the definition of hope, findings suggest that balancing hope with honesty is an important skill for health professionals (HPs). Many patients seem to be able to maintain a sense of hope despite acknowledging the terminal nature of their illness. Patients and caregivers mostly preferred honest and accurate information, provided with empathy and understanding. Many different sources of hope were identified in this context in broad aspects of life, not just the medical situation. HPs need to recognize this spectrum of hope and appreciate that patients may simultaneously hope for 'cure' while acknowledging the terminal nature of their illness. HPs may help patients to cope with their terminal prognosis by exploring and fostering realistic forms of hope that are meaningful for the particular patient and their family.
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Papers by Sharon Parker