Words Don

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Words Dont Work
Paul S. Goodman Carnegie Mellon University
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Basic Question . . .

• Why do we rely on language to understand
  individual, group, and organizational behavior?

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Basic Outcome . . .

• Can we change how we approach the research
  process?
• Presenting our research
• Doing our research

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• Agenda
• Background
• Research process
• Specify task nature of work
• Specify context
• Specify concepts
• Design
• Measurement

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• Background
• Researcher
• Group performance models
• Organizational errors
• Organizational linkages
• Filmmaker
• Fun
• Educational Videos
• Documentaries

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• Specify the nature of work
• Central issue in individual, group organizational
  research
• Some word examples
• A visual example
• Implications and action

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• Specify context
• What does context mean? Why do we care?
• Some approaches to understanding context
• Some word examples
• A visual example
• Implications and action

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• Specify concepts
• Complex concepts culture, absorption
  uncertainty, tacit-explicit
• Some word examples
• A visual example
• Implications and action

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• Alternative designs
• Modal designs
• Experimental X ? Y
• Correlational X ? Y
• Inherent Problems
• Representing real time OB
• Visual examples lab/field
• Implications and action

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Transcript
29 Liquor 11 1 QP So what you are saying is you prefer to hire your own employees and train them?
30 Liquor 11 1 QR That is important to you?
31 Florist 12 1 IR Yes
32 Liquor 13 1 QR Mr. Parducci, what about you?
33 Grocer 14 1 IR The position of the shops is in the market is a big deal to me, the division of the space, especially close to the entrance and exit
34 Grocer 14 1 SF For us we are selling large numbers of prepackaged goods.
35 Grocer 14 1 SB People will be coming out with big bags of items out of our store, so we wouldnt want them to have to traverse the whole mall to be able to get out.
36 Grocer 14 1 IP So we would argue for a position close to the door.
37 Liquor 15 1 QM Are you a grocer or a supermarket?
38 Grocer 16 1 SF We are a grocer.
39 Grocer 16 1 SF We are in the Towers.
40 Grocer 16 1 SF A lot of people will be doing a lot of their primary shopping there.
41 Grocer 16 1 SF They will use the entire market a a supermarket.
42 Grocer 16 1 SF Its just that we will be divided into four separate areas.
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• Measurement
• Modal measurements
• Some alternatives
• Implications and action

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• Implications Individual Research
• Richer verbal descriptions work, context
• Simple visual representation
• More complex visual representation
• Other forms sound, animation
• Alternative designs
• Different measurement methods

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• Institutional Implications
• Institutional rewards
• Institutional mechanisms